A flagship build project of the Midas Group has been honoured with the title of the greenest building in what is already recognised as one of Europe’s greenest cities.
The £12 million Filwood Green Business Park was named Eco Green Building of the year at the Bristol green capital awards (12 Nov).
Built by Midas Construction for Bristol City Council to mark Bristol’s status as European Green Capital 2015, the 40,000 sq ft of workshop and office space was created to provide a new sustainable home for small and medium sized businesses in the City.
Derek Quinn, executive director at Midas Construction, said: “As a Bristol-based company we are very proud to accept the Eco Green Building Award for Filwood. It’s quite something, and doubly special, to receive an environmental award like this in a City which is so widely acknowledged as being one of Europe’s most forward-thinking green cities. “The building itself is a very fitting addition to the City, the first commercial building in the South West ever to earn a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating, and one of the highest scoring environmentally-friendly buildings in the whole of Europe. We are also very proud of a build which involved more than 500 people working on site in Bristol, created training opportunities for local apprentices and employed more than 300 local sub-contractors, with 20 staff working towards an NVQ qualification.”
The European Green Capital Award was launched by the European Commission in 2008 and recognises cities that are leading the way in improving the urban environment and creating healthier and more sustainable places to live. Bristol took over the title from Copenhagen, and previous holders have included Stockholm, Hamburg, Vitoria-Gasteiz and Nantes.
Bristol’s Mayor George Ferguson said he intended to use the year to create a lasting legacy the City would be proud of and the City has already invested nearly £2 million in 189 sustainable projects through the Bristol 2015 Green Capital Grants Programme.
Speaking at the official opening of Filwood Park Mayor Ferguson said: “This project is a vital component of our year as Green Capital and provides a lasting legacy for the City, creating jobs by providing environmentally conscious businesses with workshop and office space to boost economic prosperity. I want to give particular thanks to the design and construction team for delivering this elegant energy efficient complex and congratulate all involved in delivering this project from both within and outside the City Council.”
The Bristol Post Green Capital Awards were launched this year to recognise people and businesses which support the environment.
In addition to the latest award Filwood Green Business Park also won the prestigious New Building of the Year award at the recent 2Degrees Network Champions Awards. The national awards celebrate the individuals and companies driving innovation and pushing the boundaries of sustainable business.
The building produces 20% of its own energy using photovoltaics, A+ Rated materials and planted roofs externally, however its sustainable ethos runs even deeper. Designed with high performance building materials and on-site energy generation, the building achieves a 40 % CO reduction, saving and estimated 46 tonnes of CO2 annually, the equivalent of 276 double decker buses.
Among other measures incorporated, the building features a sedum green roof and sky garden, which was a suggestion from people in the local community, who were encouraged to bring their own sustainable ideas to life. The green roof provides a wealth of benefits to the environment and can last longer than conventional roofs.
The project has also financially contributed to Bristol’s Tree Pips initiative to involve primary school children in learning about and planting 36,000 new trees across the City.
The area chosen for the building of the business park was a brown filed site with a huge amount of concrete on it due its former use as an airfield hanger. Even before the building work began, Midas ensured that all the pre-existing concrete was reused on site, saving hundreds of tonnes of waste going to landfill.
During the build, Midas used high performance building materials which reduced energy demand by 30%. They also used Advanced Waste Solutions for all waste on site and produced a monthly report of all waste collected. At the end of the build, Midas had diverted 99% of construction waste away from landfill, having set themselves a target of 80% at the start of the work.