Greenfields House

This was a wonderful opportunity to be part of a the structural engineering consultant team with a client who appreciated quality and wanted to make a statement - that a sophisticated office space can have green credentials and genuine aesthetic appeal while still representing value for money.

The project
The new offices for Greenfields Housing Association needed to demonstrate good design and use sustainable building practices to create an integrated public and private space.

The engineering challenges
The architect wanted an exposed concrete frame with a very high standard of finish. The coffers in the structural slab were designed to add architectural relief to the exposed soffit and are integrated into the lighting design. The concrete mix contained 50% GGBS cement replacement, a waste product, to reduce the carbon footprint.

The solutions
We worked with David Bennett, a leading consultant in concrete finishes, and with the contractor to achieve the required finishes on site. Early integration of the lighting design was needed to ensure we obtained the correct design result. Cement replacement is not often used for such high level finishes and we had to be careful in cold weather as it takes longer to cure. But using GGBS has a number of other advantages including providing a lighter final finish, which was beneficial for unpainted areas such as the basement.

Greenfields House was shortlisted for the 2010 Concrete Society Awards and received a commendation. In 2011 Greenfields received two RICS East of England Awards achieving Highly Commended in the Community Benefit and Sustainability categories.

Client Greenfields Housing Association
Client Agent NPS
Architect Richards Partington Architects
M&E Engineer Michael Popper Associates
Contractor ISG Jackson
QS BDB
Photography Tim Soar