High Recycled Content Materials
introduction
DEFRA's headquarters, Nobel House in Smith Square London, underwent a complete internal refurbishment in 2005. As DEFRA's remit as an organisation is the achievement of sustainable development, the refurbishment of their headquarters was an opportunity to achieve an exemplar sustainability standards within construction.
description
Preliminary BREEAM assessments were undertaken at the design stage of the project. A sustainability charter was then developed to set key targets for the project. The key objectives were:
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specification of materials with high recycled content
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re-use or recycling of excess materials generated by the demolition and refurbishment works
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minimising waste from construction activities
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achieving a BREEAM excellent rating
Product options were assessed by the design and contractors teams against these sustainability criteria:
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economic value of the material
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whole life costs
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suitability for task
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programme implications
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distance travelled
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waste produced
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disposal options
The process identified a number of high recycled content products for use in the project. For example, a high recycled content carpet tile (80%) was chosen from 15 options and utilised across the entire project.
The re-use of waste materials generated from the demolition was also prioritised, with an assessment of the demolition process showing that 70% of all construction waste was recycled or diverted from landfill.
project team
Appleyards Consulting
Atkins
Davis Langdon
Overbury
Lawrence Hewitt Partnership
further information