For some companies, a carbon reduction plan involves moving to an office with a better energy performance and features such as photovoltaic panels to generate some of the building’s energy needs on-site and in a green way. However, the actual process of constructing the building in the first place can also be made greener.
Over recent years, the construction sector has grappled with the challenge of reducing its carbon footprint. One issue has been that of embodied carbon, which constitutes the sum total of all carbon emissions involved in the construction process.
This includes the manufacturing and transportation of materials, installation, maintenance and eventual demolition, highlighting the fact that construction is one of the world’s most carbon-intensive industries.
How ReUse Reduces Embodied Carbon
Among the ways this footprint may be reduced is to reduce the amount of demolition and rebuilding involved in projects or even eliminate this part altogether, as this also means that not building from scratch lowers the carbon footprint of any new development.
This concept has been gaining support over recent years. Architects’ Journal launched a campaign in 2019 titled Retro First, which highlighted the benefits of lower carbon and reduced waste that could arise from giving retrofitting priority over demolition and rebuilding. Over 600 architecture practices promptly signed up for the campaign.
Where architects led, the construction sector has followed. Many new developments now include existing buildings (or parts of them) within the structure, often adding to them instead of replacing them entirely.
Among the latest proposed schemes is the £450 million redevelopment of 1 Silk Street by Lipton Rogers Developments, scheduled to take place after the two office buildings of 13 and 17 storeys respectively are vacated by law firm Linklaters next year.
A Green Project For A Greener Building
Although part of the building - which will no longer meet energy performance regulations from next year - will be knocked down and replaced, the basement and foundations will be retained.
The Linklaters departure is a direct consequence of the new rules, as the existing 1980s building will not be able to achieve the required minimum energy performance rating of C. Lipton Rogers has said the buildings cannot be let to anyone else as a consequence, which is why they need to be replaced.
Retaining the basement and foundations means 40 per cent of the new building will be pre-existing, making a large carbon saving while still producing modern offices with 91,000 sq ft of office space with excellent energy efficiency.
To this will be added a new public realm, with green terraces and the planting of new foliage to increase its biodiversity by more than 350 per cent.
Also at ground level will be new shops and cultural facilities, with Kent Jackson, a partner at architects SOM, saying the scheme “introduces dynamic retail and cultural spaces, creates new public realm, and strengthens important pedestrian connections”.
Demolition will take a year and the construction of the new 20-storey office block is scheduled to be finished in 2032.
Such schemes could be the future of major urban developments, helping slash the carbon footprint of one of the most carbon-intensive industries on the planet.
