Energy Efficient Co-op

Believe it or not this is the new CO-OP HQ in Manchester. It may look extravagant but don't be fooled. true to the Co-op’s commercial ethics in fact it has been designed to be one of the most energy efficient of commercial buildings.

A host of energy-efficient features, ranging from a trio of giant earth tubes to a ventilated double-skin glass facade, has helped the Co-op achieve the highest BREEAM “Outstanding” score of any UK office.

Most impressive of all is the enormous amount of natural daylight present. Light not only pours in through the glass “eyelid” ceiling but over the balconies themselves. This is because, with the exception of the three cores on alternate sides of the atrium, (accentuated by oak rather than white balconies), every balcony fronts onto entirely open-plan offices on the lower nine floors, allowing light from the external wall to permeate into the heart of the building.

Architects 3DReid point out that the building’s double skin facade also acts as a duvet that insulates the building in the winter and facilitates ventilation in the summer. The gap between the single-glazed outer skin and the weatherproofed inner skin is open at the bottom but vented by louvers at the top. Further solar control is also achieved by solar coating to the glass and the ingenious modulation of blade depths to the bronze mullions on the inner face of the outer skin. The depths are determined by the mullion’s position in relation to the building’s orientation, which essentially enables them to act like blinds that minimize solar glare when necessary.

Other energy efficient measures include locally sourced materials (except for the bronze cladding), low-energy LED lighting in the atrium and a cogeneration CHP biofuel boiler running on waste cooking oil and rapeseed grown on the Co-op’s own farms. The waste heat from the boiler provides cooling via absorption chillers and chilled beams.

The Bronze anodized finish rather than powder-coated finish to the outer framework was chosen as the lifetime guarantee it comes with means that ongoing maintenance costs would be reduced.