It is such a privilege to have been involved in six of the NLA Zero Carbon London showcase projects. What is incredibly exciting about the selection is their diversity. 

On one hand, we have an industrial building conversion into an exciting mix of uses, including residential units that meet the LETI heat demand target, while also being optimised to innovatively manage noise levels and mitigate overheating passively. We then have a completed 1970s Royal Mail building refurbishment that took a leap into the future and won a BCO award for innovation for an environmental and social smart user interface (and another award for recycled workplace!).

1 Broadgate 

Two other projects aimed very high with their sustainability aspiration from the start, and their ambition grew over the course of design, and then again when exposed to a leasing market that’s had a heightened awareness of the environmental challenges we face. One of the two projects went on to becoming one of the most advanced UK-wide Design for Performance Pioneer Projects and the other was the first building in the country to receive a BREEAM NC 2018 Outstanding rating (for both base build and fit-out!). Another showcase project started with no sustainability brief whatsoever, so we walked the client and design team through the possibilities, set the bar very high and it has made its way into this prestigious selection. In addition, we have a Grade I listed residential conversion that made sustainability a real priority and achieved ambitious targets despite the challenges.

The variety of showcase projects goes to show that any building can achieve zero carbon. In the past year, we have witnessed a revolution of will power in the property industry. Every project we work on tries to improve on the last and the momentum is constantly picking up pace. Developers are becoming acutely aware that they are re-fitting, refurbishing and building for a generation that is very different to the last and will continue to be increasingly demanding for environmental (and social) conscientiousness. Businesses and authorities are hastily re-writing their already quite-ambitious sustainability briefs and commissioning Zero Carbon assessments for their own assets and operations.

One Bank Street