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HomeNewsCorporate head office scoops fifth sustainability award

Corporate head office scoops fifth sustainability award

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The new corporate head office of VolkerFitzpatrick, the Dutch-owned civil engineering and construction company - has won its fifth award for sustainability.

The Interface Award for Design and Architecture was presented to VolkerFitzpatrick's new corporate head office by Sustain' Magazine at their recent conference. Commending both VolkerFitzpatrick and the building's architects Black Architecture, the magazine said the building "stands as a benchmark model for the successful integration of design, sustainability and energy performance", the fifth award for sustainability which the building has received.

Commenting on the award, VolkerFitzpatrick's Director of Sustainability Ted Pilbeam said "These awards are a testament to the way we place sustainability at the heart of our business practices. Reducing our environmental impact - in particular our carbon footprint - through improving sustainability is a central to the way we work".

Mr. Pilbeam went on to explain that compared to a conventional commercial property, the building produces only one-third of the carbon emissions. Other features of the building include hot water heated through solar panels, ground source heat pumps and rainwater harvesting.

Previous awards for the building include The Sustainable Building of the Year presented by Building Magazine in November 08, Sustainable Building Development of the Year at The Sustainable Building Services Awards, also in November 08. The building also won sustainability awards at both The 2008 Brick Awards and The Institution of Civil Engineers 2008 Merit Awards.

The building contains the following energy saving features:

  • 36 ground source heat pumps using 100m deep boreholes, saving 23 tonnes of CO2 annually
    Ground Air technology, delivering air pre-heated by ducts buried 1m below the ground, saving 2.8 tonnes of CO2 annually
  • Solar thermal hot water via roof mounted solar panels, preheating the hot water supply, saving 3.9 tonnes of CO2 annually
  • Intelligent power supply, facilitating the automatic shut-down of non-essential equipment, saving 16 tonnes of CO2 annually
  • Photo Voltaic Brise Soleil covering the main entrance to the building, saving 1.5 tonnes of CO2 annually
  • Daylight saving lighting control, linked to motion and daylight sensors, saving 12 tonnes of CO2 annually
  • Dimmable external lighting controlled by microprocessor, saving 3.1 tonnes of CO2 annually
  • Rainwater harvesting used for flushing toilets, saving 426m3 annually
  • Electronic taps which improve hygiene and save 203m3 annually
  • Dedicated on-site recycling area
  • Water usage in the new Corporate Head Quarters is reduced by 629m3
  • The new Corporate Head Quarters delivers a 70% reduction on CO2 when compared to the old Head Office. This equates to 204 tonnes of CO2

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