海角视频

2 & 3 Angel Square

Manchester, UK

Located between Victoria Station and the Northern Quarter and near to Manchester鈥檚 retail core, NOMA is a 20-acre mixed-use neighbourhood that puts people and community firmly at its heart.

The historic site, which once housed Richard Arkwright鈥檚 mills that kick-started the Industrial Revolution, will now play host to four million square feet of new homes, offices, shops, restaurants and bars around vibrant public realm.

2 & 3 Angel Square is the latest pair of buildings to achieve planning permission 鈥� envisaged as two 鈥渘ext generation鈥� sustainable office buildings, standing at 14 (2 Angel Square) and 13 storeys (3 Angel Square) and delivering a total of 440,000 ft虏 of new office space as well as 39,891 ft虏 of commercial and amenity space.  

The new buildings will stand adjacent to 1 Angel Square 鈥� the new head office for The Co-op 鈥� which 海角视频 also work on. This building was the first to take shape on the redevelopment site in 2013. Since then, lots has happened across the NOMA estate, including the restoration of many of the area鈥檚 historic buildings and the construction of new landmarks, such as 4 Angel Square, on which 海角视频鈥檚 team also provided multidisciplinary consultancy. We also delivered Angel Gardens on the development.

A robust approach was also taken to ensuring the operational carbon footprint of the completed buildings will be minimised through the MEP strategy.

We focused on a design for performance MEP approach, informed by our detailed energy modelling, which included looking at a range of occupancy profiles.聽

Our structural engineers played a key role in the adaptation of the design to minimise the embodied carbon of the two buildings.

This included an optimisation of the structural layout and column grid spans, as well as a detailed carbon analysis of the fabric materials.

Challenge

For 2 & 3 Angel Square, 海角视频 was engaged to provide design expertise across a range of disciplines, including civil and structural engineering and building services engineering (MEP), with a focus throughout on making the buildings sustainable landmarks and forerunners in delivering innovative low carbon solutions.

The scheme is targeting BREEAM Outstanding, as well as a range of other stand-out accreditations, including NABERS 5-star rating as a minimum, WiredScore Platinum, Fitwell-two stars and SmartScore certification. The vision is to create best in class 鈥榥ext generation鈥� buildings in terms of sustainability and net zero carbon in operation.

The buildings would need to be fully smart-enabled and the design would need to incorporate a number of innovative features to meet the highest standards of environmental performance. Wellbeing would also need to be at the heart of the design, with excellent levels of natural light and access to outdoor space for office workers.

Solution

The building fabric and facades are highly insulated and responsive to orientation, maximising natural daylight whilst minimising solar gains to reduce energy usage. Our experts provided detailed energy, wind and daylight modelling to inform the design.

We have also taken great care to reduce levels of embodied carbon (the carbon emissions involved in the construction of the buildings). All elements of the design, from the building structure, mechanical and electrical equipment down to the internal finishes, have been subject to extensive analysis to strip away unnecessary materials and lower the embodied carbon for the development.

A robust approach was also taken to ensuring the operational carbon footprint of the completed buildings will be minimised through the MEP strategy, with plant and systems optimised for maximum efficiency and all-electric air source heat pump technologies incorporated to remove any reliance on gas. The heat pumps will provide all heating, cooling and hot water. Heat recovery is provided via the ventilation system, through the use of a high efficiency thermal wheel within the air handling plant.

We focused on a design for performance approach throughout, with detailed analysis on all of the MEP systems within each building. This process involved energy modelling of various off-axis scenarios to stress test the design against potentially unforeseen operational parameters. Including plant failure and a range of occupancy profiles.  

Our structural engineers played a key role in the adaptation of the design to minimise the embodied carbon of the two buildings 鈥� this included an optimisation of the structural layout and column grid spans, as well as a detailed analysis of the materials. The optimisation of the columns alone reduced the embodied carbon of the floor structure by 20%.

We developed embodied carbon analysis for 20 different frame solutions, each using different materials, from the conventional steel to concrete to timber options. This process led to the choice of a post-tension concrete solution, with a high level of cement replacement. The exposed thermal mass of the concrete solution also contributes to the energy model and reduces the need for additional fire protection materials.  

Drawing on the accessible location, high quality cycle parking and changing facilities will be provided to encourage active forms of travel. A bike hub at 3 Angel Square could serve the wider NOMA estate. Limited parking would be provided for both buildings, focused on disabled parking bays and electric vehicle charging bays.

There are some rain garden elements to the 2 & 3 Angel Square site, to provide sustainable urban drainage systems. Landscape improvements to Angel Square will be fully integrated with the design of 2 & 3 Angel Square and the public realm surrounding the new buildings. Terraced and stepped gardens and a water feature between the buildings will create a green oasis. New planting to the surrounding streets and spaces will help also make this an attractive place for both people and biodiversity.

NOMA has created a Tree Nursery, which sees space within the development sites used to grow trees for this and future public realm projects. This initially uses space adjacent to the NOMA Pavilion marketing suite (a low-embodied carbon timber construction on the site, for which 海角视频 also provided design consultancy).

Value

Our multidisciplinary team of experts have supported the client鈥檚 ambition to achieve landmark sustainable building design, with particular interventions around MEP systems and structural designs and materials that have had a significant impact on both the embodied and operational carbon footprints of the two buildings.

Working on a range of plots across the NOMA development, we are able to provide a continuity and consistency of consultancy, which has also included supporting the project to achieve planning permission with additional elements such as producing studies around daylighting, wind engineering, microclimates, energy statements and ground investigations.