We’re delighted to see our goal of delivering a highly sustainable office facility at this prime City of London location come to fruition. With its focus on wellbeing, user experience, and connectivity, Edenica is an exceptional modern workspace. Thanks to the forward-thinking design, it has the in-built flexibility to be adapted in the future to suit evolving business requirements for years to come.”
Maxwell Shand
YardNine’s Co-founder
A new sustainability approach
Inspired by a brief which challenged the project team to look beyond conventional design, a truly holistic approach to sustainability was embedded throughout, with operational and embodied carbon minimised, and future adaptability and flexibility built into the scheme.
This resulted in Edenica achieving a remarkable embodied carbon footprint of 561kg/sqm, representing a significant uplift on UK Net Zero Building Pilot Sets for schemes commencing in 2025 and going far beyond GLA aspirational targets for offices, in addition to a total of 853kg/sqm of whole life carbon. To deliver this, ‘lean’ design options were selected wherever possible. This informed the careful selection of MEP systems which were based on underfloor air distribution to reduce the carbon associated with Cat A and future fit outs, with shell and core systems largely fabricated off-site. In addition, exposed cores and soffits were selected for the building’s structure to lower the quantum of new materials and drive down the build’s embodied carbon. The scheme is on track to achieve a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating, whilst the design’s ‘fabric first’ approach to reducing energy use has yielded an operational energy consumption level which is far lower than regulatory requirements.
Utilising a mixed-mode cooling strategy with openable windows, in conjunction with an underfloor air-based heating and cooling system, our MEP design was carefully aligned with the high-performance façade to deliver the optimal solution for lighting and thermal comfort. Through the selection of high efficiency air source heat pumps for heating, cooling and hot water generation, along with a low-energy lighting strategy and a high-performance envelope, this fossil fuel-free development uses half the operational energy of a ‘standard’ Building Regulations-compliant building and is futureproofed to align with the UKGBC Net Zero Standard.
Further bolstering the environmental and wellness credentials of the building, occupiers have access to extensive terraces on multiple levels, along with a tranquil sunken garden located adjacent St Dunstan’s Gardens. With nearly 400 sqm of soft landscaping, a vast range of habitat types, including green roofs, shrubs, grassland, climbers and trees, has been created, providing a variety of opportunities for local fauna.
To minimise the impact of the landscaping on water resources, the design couples full ‘greenfield’ run-off attenuation, via a blue roof and basement storage tank, with the latest smart tank technology which recycles rain water and grey water from the building’s showers. Recovered water will then be used to feed both the ‘low flow’ WC cisterns and irrigation.
I’m delighted to see this exceptional scheme reach completion. This has been a truly collaborative effort, and the whole team has pushed the boundaries of what’s possible with the sustainable design of commercial offices. By embedding circular economy and futureproofing principles throughout the design, we’ve created a building which will stand the test of time whilst driving down embodied and operational carbon. It was a pleasure to work with BauMont Real Estate Capital, YardNine, Fletcher Priest Architects, Mace, and the wider project team, and we look forward to continuing this on future projects.”
Mark Terndrup
Waterman’s Managing Director for Building Services – South
