
Michael Faraday House, IET
Michael Faraday House IET, Stevenage. A Sustainable Building Refurbishment.

With an iconic red brick structure Union House located in Southwark at the intersection of Great Suffolk Street and Union Street, has recently undergone significant renovations. Formerly a warehouse the building has been converted into offices, with its upper two levels demolished and replaced with new fourth, fifth and mezzanine floors. These new levels feature a fully glazed south-facing cranked façade, which provides stunning views to those on the upper floors. The reception, lower ground floor and third floor offices have also been refurbished to maintain a cohesive and modern look.
Due to the significant increase in floor space from these renovations, some challenges had to be overcome such as the building’s single lift and limited electrical supply. To ensure that occupants could reach the upper floors an additional lift was installed. For comfort cooling and space heating a VRF heat pump system was introduced.
Despite the challenges of the renovation, Union House now offers over 28,000ft² of multi-tenanted office space, complete with polished concrete or timber flooring. These upgrades provide the opportunity for quirky and unique office tenancies in the chic South Bank district of London.

Michael Faraday House IET, Stevenage. A Sustainable Building Refurbishment.

When Coverys signed the lease to occupy the sixth floor at 1 Creechurch Place in London EC3A, Watkins Payne were appointed building services consultants for Cat B fitout of the 16,000ft2 office areas, providing MEP systems and IT cabling design.

The MEP services were all replaced with a focus on energy efficiency using air source heat pumps, LED lighting and natural ventilation where possible.

The exposed services strategy implemented at Fortess Grove compliments the industrial nature of the building. Cycling facilities are provided along with showers and lockers at ground floor level accessed directly from the rear of the building along Railey Mews. The development achieved a WiredScore certification of ‘Gold’ and a B rated Energy Performance Certification.

The building has been meticulously refurbished to incorporate a range of sustainable features, targeting BREEAM Excellent and EPC A ratings.