UK's first BREEAM excellent car dealership

The recently completed Coulsdon Audi dealership, located in the London Borough of Croydon, has become the first building of its kind in the UK to be awarded a BREEAM Excellent rating, setting a new benchmark for UK dealerships. 

Based on the success of the Coulsdon development, VW Group (UK) Ltd is now targeting Excellent BREEAM ratings for all new Audi showrooms in the UK and the company is also investigating opportunities for improving the sustainability of existing dealerships through renovation and refurbishment projects.

Waterman provided BREEAM assessment services and building services to VW Group for the Coulsdon Audi development, working with Stubbs Rich Architects and structural engineers Hurst, Peirce and Malcolm.  The development incorporated the following sustainable design features:

•   A biomass boiler to reduce carbon emissions; 
•   A rainwater harvesting system;
•   The use of sustainable building materials with low embodied energy;
•   The use of natural fibre insulation;
•   Cycle storage and changing facilities;
•   Water conserving sanitaryware including dual flush toilets and low flow taps and showers; 
•   A bespoke ventilation strategy providing fresh air rates exceeding best practice requirements;
•   A lighting strategy including proximity and daylight detection control;
•   Downlighting to car parks to minimise off-site light pollution;
•   A permeable paving system to reduce surface water runoff; and
•   A landscape strategy including a green wall and the planting of a mix of native species.

Design and build contractors Talbot Construction demonstrated exemplary performance in the Considerate Constructors accreditation scheme, and managed the recycling of site waste and the monitoring of all energy use and transport to and from site.

Waterman director Dave Poulding commented: “In order to achieve the challenging target of BREEAM Excellent, the design team had to consider VW Group’s commercial objectives. Any increase in capital costs would lead to an increase in rental to the dealership which could compromise the scheme if this level of rent was uneconomical. The team therefore worked hard to achieve the credits required for BREEAM within the cost plan set in order to achieve the desired rental value. Local Planners also required a 10% reduction in CO2 levels through the use of alternative energies to comply with the London Plan, which was achieved through the use of Bio-Mass boilers to deliver hot water and heating to the workshop area. This has now set the benchmark for all future dealerships in this country, not just for VW Group, but for all car manufacturers.”

United Kingdom
09/12/2009