Wealth management FTSE 100 company St. James’s Place, wishing to extend their Cirencester headquarters using the adjacent site, renewed their long standing relationship with the original developer Citygrove. This was particularly helpful because the site location, close to the centre of historic Cirencester, necessitated a very considered architectural approach within various planning constraints.
To accommodate the requisite 50,000ft2 office space and associated car parking, the design incorporated a four-level vertical plant space to the side of the building and two levels of parking integrated into the overall building envelope with three office floors.
Design of the façade and choice of stone were carefully developed by architect Scott Brownrigg with the planners to meet the desires of both developer and tenant. It also achieved the thermal performance parameters needed to deliver the required energy strategy culminating in a B rated EPC.
The base build MEP design was worked up in conjunction with St. James’s Place to accommodate their fit out needs. That was then proven when the Category B fit out was added into the base build project for a turnkey delivery.
The building services use a 4-pipe fan coil unit arrangement with various ventilation systems to suit the different use areas. Full building power back-up standby generation, UPS, security and access control and automatic blinds all formed part of the fit-out.
During excavation, a Roman headstone – the first of its kind in England – was unearthed near skeletal remains. The Latin inscription on the tombstone was translated to read: “To the spirit of the departed Bodica, wife, who lived for 27 years.”
Centuries on, the entire team has delivered an impressive modern building which empathises with the legacy of this historic town.
The completed site now comprises four detached industrial warehouse units ranging from 14,000sq ft to 36,000sq ft, all with naturally ventilated and heated offices. The two larger units each have an 8 person MRL passenger lift, while the smaller units have been provided with platform lifts. The warehouse area was designed as a shell for future fit-out with capped off utility services.
103 Colmore Row in Birmingham, has achieved a successful practical completion with BREEAM accreditation of ‘Excellent’, an EPC Rating A, and WiredScore rating of ‘Platinum’.
The project also involved the refurbishment of the reception space and improvement of the cycle store entrance and wayfinding at basement level.
Saffron House was refurbished to provide 38,000ft² of high quality office accommodation. Watkins Payne supplied building services engineering which saw the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd floor including the ground floor reception of Saffron House converted into open plan office areas and reception.
