Overbury, the commercial office fit out and refurbishment specialist, has delivered a completely carbon neutral fit out for ‘green’ design and architectural practice Sheppard Robson at the firm’s City Tower offices in Manchester.
The £350,000 project took six weeks to complete with the team working hard to ensure all the materials used on site were either procured locally - to cut down on emissions from delivery vehicles - or from a sustainable source.
“This project is different from other sustainable fit outs as not only has the figure for carbon dioxide emissions been calculated to include workers commuting to site, deliveries of materials, waste produced and energy used, but the embodied energy from the manufacturing process for all the materials used on site has also been measured and offset,” comments Riccardo Rizzi, Overbury’s environment manager.
Overbury, a carbon neutral company itself, worked closely with Sheppard Robson and the rest of the project team to source materials from renewable sources. The natural wool carpets are biodegradable and even have recyclable backing. The rubber flooring is recyclable and provides a low toxicity compared to PVC so actually contributes to the wellbeing of the occupier. In addition, rubber trees actually sequester carbon.
Low energy light fittings have been installed and an exposed soffit stabilises peaks in heating and cooling. FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) approved softwood timber which is more quickly renewable than hardwoods and has less impact on the environment than MDF has been used.
Overbury encouraged suppliers to deliver goods on pallets to save packaging and organised for a single vehicle to pick up a number of deliveries to cut down on the number of trips to site. Waste was segregated and recycled where possible and electricity meters were installed to measure power used.
“It requires a bit more effort to track and measure emissions and segregate waste but as a company we’ve been doing it since 2005 so the project teams know what they need to do and can provide that service to the client,” says Rizzi, “On this project – the environmental impact was hugely important as Sheppard Robson themselves take sustainability very seriously and provided much of the information on the materials used.”
Sheppard Robson’s commitment to sustainable design was recognised when the practice was named Sustainable Designer of the Year in the 2005 Sustainability Awards organised by leading industry magazine Building.
