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.
The Practice was responsible for designing the complete refurbishment of the mechanical, electrical and public health services to all of the guest rooms, together with the penthouse units in The Claridge’s Hotel.
Princes Arcade in St James’s is part of the Grade II listed building within which a major new restaurant unit has been created along with office, core and atrium refurbishment.
Skyline development for SEGRO plc provides well-connected Grade A logistics, distribution and warehousing facilities as it is adjacent to Heathrow Airport and the immediate motorway and rail networks.
The building at 10 New Burlington Street has been redeveloped to offer 172,000ft² of high quality office and retail accommodation, for which Watkins Payne supplied building services engineering, vertical transportation engineering and energy consultancy to achieve an EPC B rating. We also supplied BREEAM services and achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating for the development.
Designed by Foster Associates in the late 1970s, the Tetris A40 industrial and logistics distribution building in Greenford contains elements that are now listed due to their architectural and design value.
The MEP services were all replaced with a focus on energy efficiency using air source heat pumps, LED lighting and natural ventilation where possible.