ECF’s Eden shatters NABERS rating record in North West

The £36m Salford office is the first building outside of London to secure a design for performance target rating of 5.5 stars from energy efficiency evaluator Building Research Establishment.

Eden is one of only two new buildings in the entire country to achieve that star rating from BRE, the other being British Land’s plot F2 at Canada Water in London. A NABERS Design for Performance target rating is determined through an independent design review. The highest possible score is six stars.

While Eden has a 5.5-star NABERS Design for Performance award, it will take a year for it to secure the same NABERS Energy Rating. That is because the building will have to be monitored over the course of 12 months to ensure it meets the performance standard.

The 115,000 sq ft Eden sits off Stanley Street in Salford’s New Bailey district and is being delivered by English Cities Fund, a joint venture between Muse, Legal & General, and Homes England. Coming in at 12 storeys, the Grade A office building will be capable of running completely on renewable energy when it is operational.

Other energy efficiency initiatives include lifts that add power to the building’s electrical grid whenever they are used, air-source heat pumps, Passivhaus standard insulation, and a series of prop-tech initiatives.

ECF is also at work reducing the embodied carbon of Eden. By using recycled steel and cement replacements, Eden’s embodied carbon footprint has been placed at 662kg/sqm of CO2. That is on the lower end of the embodied carbon scale, with the Institution of Structural Engineers estimating that embodied carbon for new office buildings is usually between 500kg/sqm and 900kg/sqm of CO2. The building also boasts a 43,000 sq ft living wall as its facade.

Bowmer + Kirkland is the main contractor for the Make Architects-designed project and is aiming for a late summer completion.

• READ MORE: Eden’s epic living wall is nearly complete – but how will it work?

Phil Marsden, director of project management in the North West for Muse, described how the 5.5-star NABERS rating fits in with Eden’s genesis.

“Eden’s creation was motivated purely by the ambition to build the UK’s most sustainable and environmentally considerate commercial building,” Marsden said.

“We are thrilled with the result and have learnt so much; learnings we look forward to sharing with our sector to help build a brighter future, together.”

The NABERS achievement was also welcomed by Mayor of Salford Paul Dennett. He said: “Our city has a proud history of innovation, from the first steamboat to the first swing aqueduct, and we are thrilled to add Eden to that list – a sustainable endeavour Salfordians will be working hard to add to for the benefit of our city and future generations to come.”

Prior to Eden, the building with the highest NABERS design score in Greater Manchester was NOMA’s 4 Angel Square, which has a five-star design rating from BRE.

Eden may be the first to crack the 5.5-star barrier, but it is unlikely to be the last. Bruntwood Works’ Ev0 in Didsbury is also aiming to secure the prestigious NABERS rating.