Imaginative reworking of Hampshire County Council’s office sets new benchmark
The recently completed refurbishment of Elizabeth II Court (formerly Ashburton Court) in the centre of Winchester represents a stunning transformation of a tired, dilapidated 1960s office block into a modern, efficient and highly sustainable working environment for Hampshire County Council (HCC).
Undertaken in two main phases between Spring 2007 and Summer 2009, the 12,600m2 building replaces the previous institutional working environment of corridors and cellular rooms with stylish, flexible open-plan office space. An area of car parking has been cleared to create a welcoming new entrance together with a 200 seat auditorium, meeting rooms, a café and restaurant laid out around new landscaped courtyards. Externally the outdated appearance has been transformed into a modern building using local materials that is much more in harmony with its historic context. The redesign contributes significantly to the city centre and responds positively to comments from local residents and amenity groups which were key aspects at the planning stage.
The new building is predicted to be BREEAM Excellent and to produce one of the lowest levels of CO2 emissions of any building in the UK based on the results of extensive early design modelling and analysis. As such it is well on the way to meeting the government’s 2050 target for carbon reduction and represents a remarkable achievement given the constraints of the existing building and the challenging urban context.
Hampshire County Council is one of the UK’s leading local authorities with its own reputation for excellence in the built environment. Given the challenges and scale of the Elizabeth II Court project it was felt that support would be required from the private sector. A world class team was appointed, including Bennetts Associates, Mace Group, Davis Langdon, BAM, Ernest Griffiths, Gifford and Colliers CRE. All were selected on the basis of a proven track record of expertise and experience in the delivery of low energy office buildings.
The highly complex scheme presented the project team with a series of challenges. The completed building was to:
• be highly sustainable in every regard possible
• enable the Council to introduce new flexible working methods and make more efficient use of its assets
• act as an exemplar for the Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE) procurement framework
• be delivered within tight budgetary and programme constraints
• reduce the County Council’s office portfolio to enable funds to be directed into front line services
In addition, a large scale decanting operation was required with more than 2,000 individual moves required to take the 600+ staff out of the existing building and move the 1,100 staff that now occupy it back in.
The design solution has reduced the carbon emissions level for the transformed building from 90kg CO2/m2/annum to a targeted level of 39kg CO2/m2/annum. This was always recognised as a realistic target and over time the project team is confident that the building could achieve around 30kg CO2/m2/annum, possibly even lower. Such levels would represent an annual reduction of around 70%, equivalent to 200 average UK households. The Carbon Trust is using Elizabeth II Court as a case study to evaluate reductions in carbon emissions that can be achieved through refurbishment
The building is predominantly naturally ventilated via a carefully engineered and innovative solution. Acoustic studies indicated that open windows were not feasible on the street facing elevations due to noise levels from traffic, so a system was devised whereby air is drawn from the internal courtyards across the floorplates and expelled through ducts or ‘chimneys’ along the street façades. The ducts have devices at the top called ‘wind troughs’ that use ‘renewable’ wind energy to create the suction force that drives the system. The new street elevations self shade the building and break up the massing of the façade in a way that relates to the character and materiality of the historic Winchester townscape.
Retention of the concrete frame saved 50% of the embodied energy normally required to construct a building and use of local bricks and timber based window systems helped to significantly reduce related CO2 emissions. A large proportion of demolition materials were recycled through the contractor’s supply chain, including former pre-cast concrete cladding panels that were crushed off-site and re-used as aggregate in other Hampshire projects. Waste heat from cooling plant required to service the Council’s Data Centre will be recycled to heat areas of the building in winter.
Solar shading (sun control devices), intelligent lighting systems that switch off when not required, exposing of the concrete soffits for thermal mass and a new energy-efficient building envelope, all contribute to achieving very significant energy savings. Water saving devices in toilets and washrooms have also been installed to keep consumption within previous levels despite nearly doubling the occupancy. The new working environment is flexible and stimulating with a very positive reaction from staff and users thus far.
By increasing the floor area after refurbishment and introducing flexible working Hampshire County Council has been able to accommodate around 500 more staff in the building. This will enable the Council to reduce its central HQ estate by about 30% and dispose of other offices in Winchester, thus significantly reducing energy consumption and maintenance liabilities of the built estate and allowing funds to be redirected into improving the provision of frontline services.
From the outset, Hampshire County Council and the project team established a strong collaborative working ethos. The Council has been at the forefront of this approach to procurement having moved away from lowest price tendering in 1999 and is now leading on the Improvement and Efficiency South East (IESE) construction and asset management workstream. On 18 September, the National Improvement & Efficiency Partnerships (NIEPs), for construction in local Government will be formally launched which will lead on efficiencies and best practice across the sector nationally.
Leader of Hampshire County Council, Councillor Ken Thornber said: “As we rightly predicted, Elizabeth II Court’s environmental credentials are exemplary and it represents a clear example to other public bodies of what can be achieved with sustainable and creative reuse. In developing the design for the building, we have worked with some of the UK's leading experts in sustainable design, and it is expected to secure a BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) rating of `Excellent' - the highest possible achievement.
“We are exceedingly proud of this innovative project – an exciting first step towards the significant efficiencies and savings it, and future initiatives will deliver.
“Remodelling Elizabeth II Court has not only turned a liability into an asset and produced an innovative flagship building in this historic city of Winchester but it also represents a platform for cultural change in the use of our buildings and for improved modern ways of working.”
Key achievements and benefits of the project can be summarised as follows:
• Turning a tired 1960s building into a source of pride for the County Council and the city
• Transformation of an outdated office block into a contextual modern building using local materials that is much more in harmony with the historic context of Winchester
• Delivery of the construction project to the agreed programme and within the £40.166m budget
• Cost effective solution delivering a wide range of significant aesthetic, environmental and operational benefits
• Combination of the aspirations of an enlightened and experienced client with the abilities of a world class team to tackle a very challenging task.
• 70% reduction in energy use, on a like-for-like area basis, relative to new build
• 30% space utilisation improvement leading to an eventual 4,500m2 reduction in County Council office space requirement
• £200,000 per annum saving on running costs
• Movement of 1,100 staff to facilitate the refurbishment works, over a phased programme
• 75% more staff occupying the refurbished accommodation (625 before, 1,100 after refurbishment)
• Removal of car parking to create a welcoming new entrance and range of facilities that transform the County Council’s public interface
• Creation of more flexible spaces and modern IT infrastructure which will release opportunities for further efficiency and intensification of use over time
• Establishment of a benchmark for the re-use and reinvigoration of other buildings of the period that are spread the length and breadth of the UK
Elizabeth II Court project team:
• Client: Hampshire County Council
• Architect: Bennetts Associates
• Project Manager: Mace
• Cost Consultant: Davis Langdon
• M&E Engineer: Ernest Griffiths
• Structural Engineer: Gifford
• Main Contractor: BAM
• Town Planning Consultant: Colliers CRE