Colmore Gate is a landmark development in the heart of Birmingham. The existing building consists of 16 floors with two basement floors over a podium and tower section constructed in the mid-1990s.
We have been working with the design team to extend and refurbish the building to provide 23 floors of office accommodation in the tower and 9 floors in the podium section, totalling approx. 315,000ft2 NIA. As part of the refurbishment, the existing VAV air handling system will be removed and replaced with an air source heat pump system with on-floor heat recovery units to provide comfort cooling, heating, and ventilation. Additionally the building will benefit from a building and energy management systems, high-efficiency LED lighting and controls.
The project ethos revolves around a core carbon principle of retaining existing structure and foundations and working within that constraint to provide new and exciting office space.
As the Sustainability Consultant on the project we are targeting BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Core Platinum, ActiveScore Platinum and RESET certified to maximise the scheme’s sustainability credentials. We are also completing a whole life carbon and circular economy assessment to see that we are maximising re-use and aiming to identify further reductions in carbon where possible.
In addition the building is subject to the Design for Performance approach with the aim to achieve a 5 Star NABERS UK rating. The building is projected to deliver an ‘A’ EPC rating.
The building’s planning application was submitted to Birmingham City Council in August 2023, and we provided all the necessary supporting documentation, including the sustainability statement and energy strategy.
We are looking forward to our continued involvement in the project, pending positive planning feedback.
Watkins Payne carried out the Independent Design Review role for Block A at The Soapworks development.
6-10 Market Road is an office building which was originally constructed in 1989. Watkins Payne were commissioned to design a Cat B fit out refurbishment of the area for a single tenant.
Watkins Payne was involved with the Fetter Yard project on 86 Fetter Lane for 5 years and provided the MEP services design and BREEAM assessment.
The 7,600ft² area of 7 Bermondsey Street near London Bridge Station was refurbished to high quality office accommodation, for which Watkins Payne supplied building services engineering and vertical transportation engineering. The refurbished area is spread across basement and ground floor.
