Topping out for Sheffield’s first zero carbon ready office
Elshaw House, Sheffield’s first zero carbon ready office, celebrated an important construction milestone this week with the building reaching its peak height.
A key part Heart of the City – the transformative city centre development programme being led by Sheffield City Council and their Strategic Development Partner, Queensberry, Elshaw House is situated between Wellington Street, Carver Street and Backfields.
The office’s striking industrial-styled metal frame, which has now reached its highest point, will incorporate approximately 70,000 sq ft of innovative, flexible and comfortable workspace over seven floors. The ground floor will house new retail and food and beverage units.
Decarbonisation of the grid will ultimately make the building, which is designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, an operationally carbon zero workspace. The fully electrified building drastically reduces operational energy through mixed mode ventilation, coupled with innovative cooling embedded in the fabric of the building and the latest in heat pump technology. Thanks to the reuse of existing materials, lean design and low carbon choices, the structure also has 40% lower embodied carbon than average.
This pioneering development for Sheffield is targeting NABERS 5*, BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and RIBA 2030 accreditation, which would place Elshaw House in the top one percent of all new UK office buildings in terms of quality and long-term sustainability.
To celebrate Heart of the City’s latest milestone, Sheffield City Council welcomed key representatives from Queensberry, Henry Boot Construction and Turner & Townsend for a tour of the site, along with an official topping-out ceremony.
"It’s great to see the progress being made on Elshaw House. Heart of the City is committed to a green and sustainable future. This will the most sustainable office in Sheffield and will continue to grow the new business district at the heart of our city centre. The Council’s ambition is for Sheffield to become carbon neutral by 2030 and developments like this are essential to us meeting those targets."Kate Martin, Executive Director, City Futures at Sheffield City Council
Andrew Davison, Project Director at Queensberry, commented:
“We are looking forward to seeing Elshaw House complete next year. The building is already years ahead of current practice, with predicted performance close to expected 2035-2050 standards. It sets the bar for new offices in Sheffield – delivering a blueprint for more sustainable, innovative and flexible workspaces.”
Tony Shaw, Managing Director for Henry Boot Construction, said:
“We were delighted to welcome guests to our site today to showcase the great progress that’s been made. Construction is going well and topping-out is always and exciting milestone to hit. As a Sheffield-based contractor, we are very proud to be part of this project and creating a significant sustainable landmark in the city centre.”
Richard Jackson, Principal Engineer for Arup, said:
“I am really proud of what is being achieved with Elshaw House, using cutting edge building design techniques to create a building that is highly energy efficient and future ready whilst creating spaces that are modern, flexible and controlled by the people that use them.”
The game changing office space, which will be ready for occupation in Spring 2023, is set to hit the market in the coming weeks and the project team are confident of attracting leading organisations who are committed to a sustainable future in the heart of Sheffield.
This key Heart of the City site is also seeing the ongoing construction of Cambridge Street Collective – an exciting new food hall and restaurant destination, Bethel Chapel – a live music venue, and Leah’s Yard – a new hub for independent retailers and creative workshops.
Sheffield City Council welcomed key representatives from Queensberry, Henry Boot Construction, Turner & Townsend and more to celebrate Heart of the City’s latest milestone.