Greengage are acting as the BREEAM assessor, BREEAM Accredited Professional and Ecologist for a proposed hotel development at 24-30 West Smithfield, located in the heart of central London.
The development comprises a part new build and part refurbishment development to provide a 326 bed hotel for Whitbread Group PLC. The existing office building located on the site will be partially retained and refurbished to form part of the hotel development, with a new build extension completing the development.
Due to the complex nature of the design, which includes refurbishment, demolition and new build elements, the proposed development cannot be assessed using the standard BREEAM methodologies available. Therefore, it is being assessed under a BREEAM Bespoke application, through a combination of the BREEAM New Construction and BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit-Out criteria.
The proposed development is pursuing a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating through:
- Provision of a Combined Heat & Power (CHP) unit and Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) to provide space heating, cooling and hot water resulting in over 30% CO2 savings.
- Use of passive design measures including new window design and specification of low g-value glazing to reduce both energy demand and consumption;
- The use of materials with high Green Guide ratings and with responsible sourcing certification is prioritised;
- Pre-refurbishment audit targeting overall diversion from landfill rate of 95% of strip-out waste;
- Provision of a blue roof to contribute to the minimisation of the rate of surface water run-off;
- Biodiverse brown roof proposed with 25 species of local provenance to create a roof which will enhance the ecological value of the site; and
- Rainwater reclamation system to collect water from parts of the roof to provide non-potable WC flushing demand for a number of WCs within the bedrooms of the proposed hotel development.
Picture courtesy of John Roberts Architects.