2010 Case Study - The Hive
Built Environment
5 plus architects (formerly HKR Architects), Argent Group and Bardsley Construction, jointly won the Built Environment Award 2010 in the 'over £1m category' for The Hive in Manchester.
The three partners have produced an eye-catching, sustainable office development on Lever Street in Manchester’s fashionable Northern Quarter, built with a large proportion of recycled and recyclable construction materials. Billed as being 'not your typical office building', The Hive has been designed as a 'post recession' building for low rental, creative occupants, with sustainability firmly in mind, and has received a BREEAM 'Excellent' rating.
Special features:
- - High levels of insulation, reducing the need for heating in winter.
- - Exposed concrete slabs to store heat in the day which can be used at night.
- - Natural, low energy ventilation incorporated into the design.
- - Fitted blinds and solar shading screen on south-west elevation to cool the interior.
- - Natural lighting maximised and low-energy bulbs with motion sensors and daylight dimming to maximise light efficiency.
- - Low flow fixtures, self closing taps and leak detection to maximise water efficiency.
- - Design and finish eliminates the need for suspended ceilings and saves space.
- - Cycle storage and extra shower facilities instead of a basement car park.
- - Green roof to encourage biodiversity and collect storm water to reduce water waste.
What the judges said:
- "The design bravely challenges the conventional response to city centre office development with a unique and site-specific form."
- "Demonstrates that a comfortable, low technology and non-air conditioned building can be developed cost-effectively on a constrained urban site."
Runner-Up
Waterman Group
Waterman Group took this year's Runner-Up trophy for its phase four development at Loreto Sixth Form College in Hulme, Manchester. The international engineering and environmental consultancy designed the £15m project in conjunction with Taylor Young Architects, AA Projects Ltd and Bardsley Construction.
The project involved designing and building a sustainable, five-storey teaching block on a restricted brown field site next to a busy main road. It was awarded the 2010 BREEAM Further Education Project of the Year Award and is capable of generating 173.7 kilowatt hours (kWh) of renewable energy annually, which is 28.6% of its total anticipated energy demand.
Special features:
Features include natural ventilation systems, a 500 m2 green roof planted with native species, heavy weight thermal mass construction techniques to reduce heating and cooling requirements, solar shading to cool the interior during the day and reduce the need for comfort cooling, the use of low energy fans, lighting, pumps and computer terminals.
The design also incorporates air quality controls, occupancy and daylight sensors to control efficiency of heating, lighting and ventilation systems, a 30,000 litre rainwater harvesting tank to reduce water use, 270 m2 of photovoltaic solar panels, 30 m2 of solar-powered water heating tubes and ground source heat pumps to provide renewable geothermal energy.
