Green roofs awards

The spectacular ArchiGreen® living roof is a key feature that helped this project achieve the BREEAM Outstanding and LEED Platinum ratings.

“This is bigger than just a building – it’s a whole philosophy”. These words are an entirely apt description of the ambition for the project and what has been achieved through a deep collaboration between the client (The University of Nottingham) and design teams.

The GSK Carbon Neutral Laboratories of Sustainable Chemistry is the latest development by the University of Nottingham on its Jubilee Campus. As the name suggests, the £15.8m facility aims to be carbon neutral over its 25-year lifetime. The energy required to run the laboratory is met by solar power and sustainable biofuel. Excess energy will produce enough carbon credits over 25 years to pay back the carbon used in construction and is being used to heat a nearby office development. But in September 2014 – 52 weeks into an 84-week build – the centre was gutted by a huge blaze. No blame was attached to the build process (an electrical fault in the temporary site supply was thought to be the culprit) and principal contractor Morgan Sindall has rebuilt it, largely using the same design.

Morgan Sindall’s winning entry is the world’s first naturally ventilated laboratory, and particularly impressed the judges by securing both BREEAM Outstanding and LEED Platinum ratings – a rare achievement.

We are grateful to be part of this rare achievement. ArchiGreen® products including SedumDrain® are rebranded and distributed as EVAGREEN and EvaDrain respectively in the United Kingdom supplied by ICB our official reseller there. ICB is a company that creates safe, sustainable and smart roof environments.