英国首个 Passivhaus Plus 认证办公楼丨Architype

Firm： Architype

Type： Commercial › Office

STATUS： Built

YEAR： 2020

The first UK office to be awarded Passivhaus Plus status, the Bicester Eco Business Centre is an example of design that performs to the highest energy standards and delivers true, lasting sustainability on a budget. The timber-finned cornerstone of the last surviving Eco-Town project, the client brief asked for a zero carbon, fully-inclusive incubator for 125 local freelancers, entrepreneurs and flexible workers to cut down the need for commuting by car. As the first public building on the campus to reach completion - and with a prominent location at the site’s first major cross-street - it needed to set the tone visually, and in terms of exemplar sustainability. It has since become a community hub, with the cafe regularly hosting events.

Architype worked with Cherwell Council to not just reach Passivhaus certification, but Passivhaus Plus and BREEAM Outstanding. The brief required a dramatic, industrial aesthetic that also responded to neighbouring residential properties. This was done in part by the stunning, undulating timber fins that offer solar shading to workspaces – while also re-imagining the suggested L-shape footprint to produce a design with a more efficient form factor.

Behind its fins the building sits on an EPS-wrapped raft foundation, insulated with WarmCell’s recycled newspaper. Internally it features triple-glazing, Heraklith wood-wool natural ceilings, nettle-wrapped fabric boards for acoustics and extensive natural timber. Every element of the building is designed with efficiency and human experience in mind.

In-use, its energy bills are around 75 percent lower than standard offices of an equivalent size, while the project was delivered to this standard without the need for additional capital outlay from the council.