20 Fenchurch Street, London

One of the newest additions to Londons City Skyline

Project Details

  • Scheme & Version: New Construction Offices 2011
  • Stage: Final
  • Location: London, UK
  • Score & Rating: 80.2%
  • Certificate Number: BREEAM-0049-7305

Project Team

  • Assessor Company: Hilson Moran Partnership Ltd
  • Client: Canary Wharf Contractors
  • Developer: 20 Fenchurch Street (GP) Limited
  • Principal Contractor: Canary Wharf Contractors Limited
  • Architects: Rafael Viñoly Architects / Adamson Associates
  • Building Services: Hilson Moran Partnership
  • Structural Engineer: Halcrow Yolles

About the Building

Joint developers Canary Wharf Group and Land Securities set out to ensure the 38-storey tower, known as ‘The Walkie Talkie’ was one of the most sustainable buildings of its type in London, and have deployed a number of innovative measures throughout the design, construction and operational phases.

Martin Gettings, Group Sustainability Manager at Canary Wharf Contractors, said: Our total project approach to ‘making sustainability real’ has resulted in one of the most sustainable buildings of its type in central London. The team can be justly proud of this achievement and the effort made to reach these milestones.”

 

Highlights

  • Themographic surveys: using the same technology as fire and rescue search teams, the thermal conductivity of the entire façade was checked and found to conform with exacting heat loss performance standards.
  • UK’s largest green wall: providing a much-needed plant and insect ecosystem, an important habitat for nesting birds, and valuable green infrastructure.
  • Low zero carbon (LTC) technologies – roof mounted solar PV (photo voltaic) panels are
  • predicted to generate 27,300kWh of electricity per year.
  • Certified Sustainable Sourced concrete and structural steelwork – all certified as Sustainably Sourced in accordance with the BRE Global Standard BES 6001 Responsible Sourcing of Construction Products.
  • FSC certified timber – one of only 80 projects globally and 44 in the UK that have achieved this certification which recognises the incorporation of wood products from responsibly managed forests that provide environmental, social and economic benefits. 20 Fenchurch Street was a FSC Full Project for the shell, core and full fit-out of the Sky Garden and restaurants, common areas, the pocket park, annex building and levels 14, 15, 16, 17, 35, 36, 37.
  • Recycling construction waste – 96.4% of all construction waste was diverted from landfill and either reused, recycled or recovered through a variety of onsite and offsite resource management processes. For example, all excavated material was reclassified under the CLARE Code of Practice and was sent for use as fill material in an offsite land reclamation project. Unwanted timber pallets and packaging was re-used by an exporter of military memorabilia.
  • Noise and air quality monitoring – real time noise and dust monitoring stations were established during the construction process which were used to help the site team monitor and maintain noise and air quality within acceptable thresholds. The data was used to help inform a pioneering report on construction air quality within the City of London, in conjunction with City of London and Southbank University.

Additionally, 20 Fenchurch Street boasts the first hydrogen fuel cell to be installed in a commercial building in the City of London. The fuel cell, which will be switched on later this summer, produces heating cooling and electricity, generating 300kW of low carbon, low emissions electricity, reducing the building’s carbon dioxide emissions by at least 270 tonnes per annum.

Tobias Andrews, Hilson Moran BREEAM assessor for 20 Fenchurch Street said: “The achievement of BREEAM ‘Excellent’ is testament to the collaboration of the project design team and the consideration of sustainable development at the earliest stages. Hilson Moran’s lead on sustainability, acting alongside our Building Services and Vertical Transportation roles, ensured  BREEAM issues were understood and acted on. The energy efficiency of the building is maximised through the integration of a fuel cell and photovoltaics together with the selection of low environmental impact materials. Guided by our ecologists, the installation of the Green Wall was assessed as providing the optimum enrichment of plant habitat, thereby achieving the maximum BREEAM credits given the space available.”

 

Caroline Hill, Head of Sustainability (Energy & Environment) at Land Securities, said: “We’re delighted that 20 Fenchurch Street has achieved a BREEAM Excellent rating. Together with our joint venture partners, Canary Wharf Group, we’ve worked hard to find innovative ways to enhance the building’s sustainability credentials, and we’re proud that the finished product is having as positive an impact on the environment as it is on our office customers and visitors to the Sky Garden.”