ArchShowcase Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. One Angel Square in Manchester, England by 3DReidMarch 23rd, 2013 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: 3DReid Flexibility: 1 Angel Square contains 328,000 sq ft of high quality office space, specifically designed for maximum flexibility. The building structure and its mechanical & electrical systems allow occupiers to easily reorganize accommodation and subdivide space, so as needs change, the building stays relevant – without excessive refit costs.
Sustainability: 1 Angel Square is the highest scoring BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ building the country, and sets a new national benchmark in sustainable design within the commercial sector. 1 Angel Square has been designed to deliver a 50% reduction in energy consumption compared to The Co-operative’s current Manchester complex and an 80% reduction in carbon. This will lead to a reduction in operating costs of up to 30%. Ground breaking engineering features include a double-skinned façade to minimize heating and cooling throughout the year and underground concrete earth tubes that provide an amount of free heating and cooling for the incoming fresh air. The thermal mass of concrete is employed again within the building by exposing 300,000sq ft of concrete that forms the ceilings to the office floors. 1The concrete acts as a thermal sponge, passively soaking up heat and reducing the amount of energy needed to cool the building. Waste air is finally extracted over the balcony edge using the natural stack effect of the atrium thus negating the need for large space-hungry extract risers within the cores. Before being expelled at the highest point of the roof, the air passes through a heat-exchanger that recyles the heat to warm the incoming air in to the offices below. 3DReid incorporated a recycling system for used water and a rainwater harvesting system to guarantee low water consumption. The Co-operative’s local sourcing and sustainability principles are put into practice in using rape seed from British Co-operative farms to produce the fuel for the building’s CHP power plant. The remaining husks of the crop will be recycled into animal feed. Excess energy can be supplied back to the grid and utilised by the wider NOMA development, with waste energy being sent through an absorption chiller, used to cool the building. The designers have addressed the issue of global warming and future-proofed the building against predicted weather data for 2050. So the building can cope with a potential 3-5 degree increase in summer temperature and 30% more rainfall in winter. The building’s fabric and environmental systems have been designed to become more efficient as average annual temperatures rise. Other areas of innovation are the implementation of electrical pool car charging points, fed from the low carbon CHP and the development of a building user ‘App’ which relays real time user information on how the building is performing. Public Realm: The public-realm area in front of the head office has also been designed with sustainability and green credentials in mind. Comprising of an attractive 3,000 sq ft lawn and 75 species of plants, trees and shrubs, it provides extensive gardens for Co-operative staff and members of the public to spend time and relax in. Transport links: 1 Angel Squarehas excellent transport links. It has been built beside Victoria Station, one of Manchester’s main commuter hubs, adjacent to two tram stations, the main bus interchange and the City’s Inner Ring Road. Victoria Station will benefit directly from government funding, such as the electrification of the trans-Penine line from Leeds through to Liverpool, and new tram lines and bus connections that will better link the conurbation together and connect NOMA to Manchester airport. NOMA53°: 1 Angel Square is part of a wider mixed-use development plan called NOMA, which will include premier office, retail, residential and leisure space. The project is expected to cost £800 million and will transform the city’s landscape with construction taking place on four million sq ft of mixed-use land. Facts & Figures
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Tags: England, Manchester Categories: Building, City Center, Mixed use, Offices |