Co-op HQ wins RICS award
The new £100 million headquarters of The Co-operative Group in Manchester has been named project of the year at the RICS Awards. Over 600 building projects entered this year’s awards, which celebrate the built and natural environment.
Known as One Angel Square, it is the largest commercial office building in Manchester and has achieved the highest-scoring BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ office rating in the country, setting a new national benchmark in sustainable design in the commercial sector.
The judges remarked that every aspect of the building has been constructed with sustainability at heart, with technologies that include underground earth tubes to provide free heating and cooling. Powered by a pure plant oil-fed CHP system, the building uses rapeseed oil grown on the Co-operative Group’s own farmland.
Michael Newey, ROCS president, said, ‘As the first BREEAM “outstanding” regional office building in the UK, it goes to show that sustainability, cutting-edge design and architectural appeal can go hand in hand.’
