When designed and constructed, One Angel Square was one of the most sustainable buildings in Europe. The desire to create a highly innovative, sustainable building was central to the original design brief for architects 3DReid and the design team. The building was the first BREEAM rated ‘Outstanding’ regional office building in the UK and is EPC ‘A’ Rated.
Overview
The focus on sustainability has been embedded at the heart of One Angel Square and has shaped all of the core activity – impacting everything from choosing the initial location for the building, the architectural design, throughout the construction process and has also influenced how the building is occupied.
Design Features
The building is powered using a pioneering, bio-fuel cogeneration plant oil fed combined heat and power (CHP) system. Rapeseed oil, which is being grown on The Co-operative’s own farmland, used to run the engine. Rainwater and greywater harvesting has been employed to guarantee low water consumption and the building has many ground breaking engineering features, including a double skinned façade to minimise heating and cooling throughout the year. Geothermal earth tubes to circulate fresh air and chilled beams throughout to provide natural cooling.
Benefits
One Angel Square operates with an extreme reduction in carbon emissions and energy consumption compared to older office buildings.
The Co-operative Group who occupy space in the building have seized the opportunity to introduce a programme of organisational transformation to ensure the building is used in a sustainable way including creating a green travel plan for the site and rolling out virtual desktop technology that not only uses less heat and energy but will also enable flexible working, including home working and hot desking to drive maximum space efficiency.
