A pilot project to create a â?? Green?? workplace in the unlikely context of an office block in London in 1960 was named one of the most sustainable buildings in the United Kingdom.
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Morgan Lovell?? S pioneering development of a sustainable office of the future has taken the title to accommodate the 2008 UK BREEAM Awards.
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BREEAM (Building Research Establishment's Environmental Assessment Method) is a leading global environmental assessment method for buildings.
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As specialists in the design and construction of offices, Morgan Lovell set about creating a green workplace at their headquarters – located in Noel Street, Soho – last year.
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The companyâ?? S in-house team pooled their expertise and eventually achieved the highest BREEAM form out environmental assessment score in the United Kingdom to date for the project, â?? Excellent?? Notes with a total score of 76 per cent – awarded in March this year.
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David Henderson, managing director of Morgan Lovell, said: â?? We wanted to challenge the widespread idea that it is impossible or too hard to green an existing building or more.
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â?? The renovation of our own office has provided the ideal opportunity to address the issue and transform an older office in a model of sustainability.
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â?? It was an ambitious project. The office exists across two floors of a 1960s, seven-story office building multi-tenant – the type of building that would normally be regarded as a non-value.
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â?? Even the external experts have estimated that to achieve a BREEAM â?? Excellent?? Evaluation of such an old building would be very difficult or impossible.
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â?? However, the completed project offers a blueprint to help reduce the significant carbon footprint now flying the United Kingdom of office buildings.
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â?? Almost 50 per cent of the UKA?? s carbon emissions come from buildings and most businesses are housed in one?? older?? changes in the hostile environment.
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â?? Weâ?? I found that UK businesses often hold the view that to reduce their carbon footprint they need to build an office's new? a process considered as massively expensive and out of reach for most.
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â?? 16 Noel Street proves you can take an old building and make it green at ???????? without the cost and upheaval of moving office or affecting the fabric of the building. â??
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With almost 100,000 buildings certified and over half a million registered, BREEAM sets the standard for sustainable design and is the most recognized measure of a building?? S environmental performance.
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A spokesman BRE Global â?? the body behind BREEAM – said: â?? The 2008 award winners truly represent the BREEAM UKA?? s top examples of sustainable design. â??
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Learn more about green office interiors at http://www. morganlovell. com / sustainability
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ENDS
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Notes to Editors
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About Morgan Lovell?? S Green Office
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Morgan Lovell was placed seventh for the â?? Employeesâ greener?? in the Sunday Times Green Companies List announced in May 2008 â?? the new office rated heavily in that success.
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Features of the restoration includes recycled plastic bottles for kitchen surfaces and paints clay to reduce solvent emissions.
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To limit waste, furniture was reused – and products such as flooring and furniture from as locally as possible with a high recycled and recyclable themselves. Desks and computers not needed were donated to charity.
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Lighting, heating and cooling are zoned across the floors of offices. Sensors deployed lighting in the only areas where people work and the lights automatically adjust to natural conditions for less artificial light is needed. Heat rejected in areas cooled is used to heat other parts of the building as required.
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Total energy demand is supplied by renewable energy sources, the company purchased green power.
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Other improvements include temperatures welfare factors associated with working in an office with greater use of fresh air and natural light – and heating are controlled small areas. The products have been specified with little or no VOCs, create a healthier environment.
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Finally, a break-out area creates a heart within the office, with low lighting, booth-style seating and state-of-the-art high gloss kitchen accessories.
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An investigation after the restoration has revealed an exceptional level of employee satisfaction with a score of 95%.
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The new office was used as a location for a fact-finding mission by members of the British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFMA) examining issues surrounding sustainable refurbishment. It has played host to a series of sustainable office seminars, allowing property professionals the opportunity to learn and see first hand how a refurbished?? Green?? Office concept works.
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About Morgan Lovell
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Located in London, Birmingham and the Thames Valley, Morgan Lovell is UKA?? Leader of the interior decoration of offices, development and specialist renovation. With its own team of designers, surveyors and project managers, the company can design and implement projects together with the advantage of a single point of contact. Â www. morganlovell. com
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It is part of the top five construction in the United Kingdom and regeneration group Morgan Sindall plc which operates through five specialist divisions of work planning, construction, infrastructure services, affordable housing and regeneration urban.
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Morgan Lovell is a licensed BREEAM Offices Assessment Organization. This means it is now licensed to measure the sustainability score of a position to identify the companies can reduce the use of means of high energy and waste, while increasing comfort and satisfaction of users the building.
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Contacts
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Press release written by Jane Shepherd, Shepherd PR Limited. Tel 01538 308685 or 308099. Mobile 07985 129315
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jane @ shepherd-dr. com
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