Eco building set for Syston
A £1.5m building is to be built at the Watermead Business Park in Syston. Plans have been approved by Charnwood Borough Council for a 6,000 sq ft, regional office for Interserve Project Services at the 63-acre site.
The project, which is being built in partnership with Raynsway Properties, will be constructed by Interserve using the design principles of PassivHaus, a German-based building standard which reduces energy costs by approximately 90 per cent compared to traditional builds.
The project is believed to be the first of its kind in the Midlands, with only two other PassivHaus offices completed in the country at present. Build work is expected to commence later this year and take until July 2011 to complete.
Gordon Kew, divisional director of Interserve Project Services in the East Midlands and Anglia, said: “The desire for a new premises came as our existing offices were becoming outdated, energy hungry and spread out over various buildings at the Troon Way Business Centre.
"One of the company’s core business values is ‘improving our performance through continual learning and innovation and by sharing our knowledge’ and the design concept of our new building reflects this through its simplicity, elegance and efficient use of energy using PassivHaus techniques.
“Our new building will house the 51 employees currently based in Leicester whilst also providing space for future growth.”
The building will feature triple-glazed windows and roof lights, air source heat pumps and underground ‘earth tubes’ to heat the incoming air in the winter or cool it in the summer. It will also include a zinc roof, which is long lasting, made of a high proportion of recycled material and requires minimal maintenance.
