ISG has begun work on the ‘world’s first’ retrofitted sustainable office building for the University of Cambridge Institute
The sustainable office building for the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership new headquarters sets new standards for low energy use, carbon emissions and impact on natural resources.
The Entopia Building, a retrofitted 1930s Telephone Exchange at 1 Regent Street, Cambridge, will be transformed over the next 10 months into an ultra-low carbon sustainability hub, and new home for CISL.
The sustainable office building will house CISL’s Cambridge-based staff and provide a virtual hub for its offices in Brussels and Cape Town, partner organisations in China, Australia and the UAE, its global corporate partners, alumni, fellows, associates, researchers and visiting academics.
‘Inspiring leadership and innovation’
The Entopia Building is the vision of CISL founder director Dame Polly Courtice who has led the Institute for more than 30 years.
Dame Polly Courtice, founder director of CISL, said: “CISL’s new HQ at The Entopia Building will exemplify and enable our mission to support and inspire the leadership and innovation we need to transition to sustainable economy.
“Our aim is to create a highly collaborative and sustainable workspace to bring together Cambridge’s academic and innovation communities with our network of companies and sustainability leaders to accelerate solutions to global sustainability challenges.”
Upgrading the world’s buildings and infrastructure
The sustainable office building aims to be an international exemplar for sustainable office retrofits, demonstrating how an existing office can be made highly energy efficient in its redevelopment and use, whilst supporting the enhanced wellbeing of staff and visitors.
The building will also provide a base for the Institute’s digital learning programmes which reach more than 4,000 executives each year through remote learning. High tech video conferencing facilities and collaborative digital platforms will enable its network of 16,000 alumni, fellows and associates to collaborate and engage with its work remotely.
The Entopia Building aims to achieve multiple sustainable building certifications, including BREEAM (Outstanding), the Passivhaus ‘Enerphit’ standard, Well (Gold) certification, alongside the application of ‘circular economy’ principles to minimise the volume and impact of natural and made-made resources used in the building.
The £12.8m retrofit has been supported by a £6m donation from greentech leaders Envision Group and a £3m grant from the European Regional Development fund (ERDF), which is also funding the operation of a sustainability hub and small business and start up accelerator for three years.
The university has invested its own funds in the project alongside an internal grant from its internal energy & carbon reduction Project.
The building name references the Entopia concept developed by Envision Group to shape a future where access to clean, secure and affordable energy is available to all.
Lei Zhang, Founder and CEO, Envision Group, said: “We hope this project will lead others to be bolder in pursuing the goal of net zero as they invest in upgrading the world’s buildings and infrastructure.
“The Entopia Building will help to make the Entopia vision a reality as we work to engage international leaders and innovators in business and society to lead a collective effort to transform the world’s energy system to be fit for the future.”
Paul Cossell, CEO of ISG, added: “The significance of this project cannot be underestimated in the wider context of the UK achieving its 2050 net zero emissions target.
“With the built environment contributing around 40% of the UK’s total carbon footprint, this ground-breaking project is a pioneering case study on the smart transformation of an existing building, prioritising sustainability criteria as core drivers for every single element of the retrofit.
“We confidently expect the new design modelling, material and methodology innovations at the new CISL headquarters to provide the springboard for greater collaboration at an industry and client level to fast-track the reduction of carbon emissions from our built assets.”
