Treglown Court

Our self-built carbon neutral office; the first in the UK to achieve BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ at design stage

Location: Cardiff
Client: Rowan Properties Partnership
Value: £750k
Completion: 2010
Size: 500sqm
BREEAM Rating: 'Excellent'

Highly Commended

RICS Wales Awards Innovation Category

RICS Awards 2012

Winner

Wales Demonstration Award

Constructing Excellence 2011

Shortlisted

Sustainability Initiative of the Year

Estates Gazette 2011

Winner

Regional Best Projects up to 2000m²

BCO Awards 2011

Winner

Best Office Architecture

International Property Awards 2010

Winner

Environmental Project of the Year

Green IT Awards 2010

Winner

BREEAM Outstanding Office (Design Stage)

BRE Group 2010

Over ten years ago we set ourselves the task of creating a new office for our Cardiff team. We wanted to push the boundaries of sustainable design and create a building which minimised energy consumption and waste.

Using in-house expertise – Architecture, Landscape Architecture, BREEAM Consultancy, Building Surveying, Graphics, Interior Design, Project Management – we designed and delivered 500sqm of sustainable office space in 2010.

Cardiff’s hidden gem

Tucked away in the back streets of Cardiff Bay, the striking timber framed building wears its sustainability credentials proudly and stands out like a beacon within its industrial context.

Inside, the open-plan office supports a highly creative, multi-disciplinary team. With extensive glazing and large rooflight, it’s bright, airy and healthy as all good work places should be.

Pushing sustainable boundaries

Treglown Court was the first office building in the UK to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding score at 89.12% – the highest ever design stage score at the time.

The building became carbon neutral with an EPC of zero following the installation of additional PVs in 2011. We qualify for the Feed In Tariff and the Renewable Heat Incentive and now receive payments for our energy generation.

106sqm mono-crystalline photovoltaic array on the roof and south façade

A wood pellet 50kW biomass boiler, supplemented by a high efficiency 18kW domestic gas-fired boiler

A highly efficient timber building envelope achieving a U Value of 0.11W/m2 degC utilising a Structurally Insulated Panel System (SIPS)

Natural ventilation using a stack system

Low-flush WCs and low flow sanitary fittings

All major building elements are BRE Green Guide A and A+ rated

A Building Management System controls the natural ventilation system and lighting, which is sensor controlled and zoned

SUDS and a ‘Nature’ roof to attenuate rainwater run-off

Reflecting on 10 years

Treglown Court was officially opened on 13th January 2011 by Jane Davidson AM former Minister for Environment, Sustainability and Housing.

3656 days later, our Cardiff team reflects on what the building means to them now.

Monitoring and operation

Since its completion we have monitored the building’s energy consumption to check that the office is achieving the carbon neutral status. The results show how a combination of high insulation levels for the fabric combined with technological measures internally can prove very efficient.

The building maintains a stable and quality working environment. Temperatures in the summer vary between 21 and 26 degrees C during a 24 hour cycle, assisted by night time purging. Winter temperatures are between 20 and 24 degrees C.

What have we learnt?

Sustainable technology has come a long way in the last decade but we are continually pleased with Treglown Court’s performance.

We’re currently carrying out a detailed post occupancy evaluation. With ten years of energy data to analyse, we’re hoping the results will provide a valuable insight into building performance. We look forward to sharing this with the wider industry.