PlaceTech Visits | 1 Triton Square by British Land
A retrofit that proves sustainability can be both cost effective and a magnet for the world’s biggest companies, 1 Triton Square is a statement in the heart of London. PlaceTech visited the site to find out how British Land and Arup slashed the building’s emissions and secured a massive pre-let from Meta along the way.
1 Triton Square at a glance
- Developer: British Land
- Design: Arup
- Contractor: Lendlease
- Size: 366,000 sq ft
- Tenant: Meta
Strategy
Having originally developed 1 Triton Square in the late 1990s, British Land and Arup teamed up again 20 years later to deliver a retrofit driven by circularity.
The goal was to re-use and recycle as much of the material as possible. British Land refurbished the 3,500 sq m façade instead of replacing it. The team added carbon fibre wraps to the columns, giving them extra strength and enabling the building to support three extra floors without wasting space on new structural supports.
In order to boost energy performance, 1 Triton Square switched to high efficiency heat wheel pumps. The developer was also able to remove the building’s cores from the heating and air-cooling system, sharply reducing heating demand.
Alongside low-carbon design choices, the development factored in demand for biodiversity, including green spaces along the perimeter of the site and a brown roof designed to support local wildlife.
Results
- Achieved a BREEAM Outstanding score of 93%
- Saved 30,000 tonnes of concrete and nearly 2,000 tonnes of steel by not demolishing the original building
- Saved 57,000 tonnes of carbon, including a 56% embodied carbon saving vs a typical newbuild
- 44% carbon saving in construction and operation vs a newbuild
- Saved 40,000kg of operational carbon per year by not heating and cooling the cores
- Substantial construction cost savings, including spending 66% less on the façade by recycling the old one
- Replaced 70% of cement with a low-carbon alternative – blast furnace slag – which typically has 50% less carbon
- Secured the biggest pre-let in London’s West End in more than two decades
