BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ for Brent Civic Centre
Brent Council’s state-of-the-art Civic Centre has achieved a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating, making it officially the greenest public office building in the country and the fourth greenest building worldwide. Only 10 buildings have received the ‘Outstanding’ rating. This building achieved a score of 92.55%. A number of design features will reduce carbon emissions by 33% compared with similar conventional buildings.
The building is naturally ventilated and has green roofs. Rainwater is harvested, and there is an indoor winter garden. Building materials were sustainably sourced, and the landscaped courtyards are planted with carefully selected drought-tolerant species.
Cllr George Crane, Brent Council lead member for regeneration and major projects, said, ‘Receiving an “outstanding” rating from BRE is a huge accomplishment for the high-profile Civic Centre project, which is a tangible outcome of our efforts to create an environmentally friendly and sustainable building which will serve Brent’s diverse community.
‘As well as having the highest sustainability and environmental standards which will save the council money in the long term, the building’s state-of-the-art community facilities will set the standard for public-sector buildings.’
Aktar Choudhury, Brent’s Civic Centre programme director, said, ‘The commitment from Brent Council, Skanska, Hopkins and URS to excel on the building’s sustainability and environmental performance targets has been the key factor in achieving the “Outstanding” result.’
The centre is scheduled to be fully open by 1 July 2013.
