About the client
The Ethical Property Company is one of the UK’s largest social businesses, which owns and/or manages 23 centres across the country, providing office, meeting, event and retail space to over 1,000 organisations. They attract tenants looking to work alongside like-minded companies with similar backgrounds, who can benefit from the support and partnership opportunities this approach provides.
The Brief
To develop an environmentally exemplary new office space, replacing a disused and derelict 1962 office block with modern and flexible workspaces for up to 25 charities under the same roof, sharing generous communal facilities.
As the Ethical Property Company’s centres are designed with the environment in mind and their financial, environmental and social performance is externally audited every year – sustainability and ethical sourcing of materials was essential.
The Outcome
B&K Structures was able to deliver and install the steel, CLT and glulam elements within a two-phase programme of just 44 weeks – if supplied in one single phase, the project delivery would have been much shorter.
Offsite construction methods helped to speed up the build process significantly when compared to a traditional construction programme for a project this size.
What’s more, the use of lightweight steel in the structure allowed for open floor spaces, and large unsupported spans. This worked well as part of a hybrid solution, with steel and timber complementing each other to create a sustainable and economical alternative to 100% steel. In the case of Cambridge Heath Road, steel was blended with highquality CLT panels and glulam beams to create expansive
communal areas such as the central atrium.
Ethical Property has had a great experience working with B&K Structures, Waugh Thistleton and ARJ Construction. The result is a stunning building and a great place for our tenants to carry out their work to achieve social change.
Nick Forster
Director of Special Projects
The Ethical Property Company