Keynsham Civic Centre is the headquarters for Bath and Northeast Somerset Council. The £35m development consists of 68,000 sq ft of office space with a four-storey atrium, public library and provides more than 20,000 sq ft of retail space. In addition, the scheme incorporates a new market square and car parking facilities.
Our team were appointed as the building services design consultants to provide the technical design and develop the performance scheme from RIBA Stage 3 onwards. Our key focus was on delivering a highly energy efficient solution to meet the Council’s aspirations of creating an efficient, robust and flexible building that minimises energy consumption and maintenance. It is the first building to employ the full ‘Soft Landings’ methodology through which the energy performance is written into the contract. We worked closely with AHR Architects and delivered the design using Revit to BIM Level 2.
The innovative design includes natural ventilation and the use of concrete ‘radiators’ for thermal mass which also offer the potential for low energy cooling to be added as part of a future climate change strategy. The scheme also features a system for recovering heat from the IT servers to heat the building, along with one of the largest photovoltaic installations on a UK public sector building.
The project delivered a low maintenance, flexible workspace with the highest standards of environmental sustainability. It has proved an exemplar for sustainability in public buildings in the UK, achieving a DEC A rating. The scheme has received multiple awards including CIBSE ‘Project of the Year – Public Use’ award, BCO ‘Best of the Best’ and ‘Best Corporate Workplace’ and the RIBA: South-West Sustainability Award.
Client: Bath and North-East Somerset Council
Architect: AHR Architects
