Holbein Gardens is a redevelopment and one storey extension of a 1980s office building off Sloane Square, creating a 25,000 sq ft modern workplace constructed within the UKGBC’s net zero carbon buildings framework.

All contractors and advisors on the project have been challenged to help Grosvenor deliver against its goals of net zero carbon, zero waste and a significant biodiversity gain.

The designs by Barr Gazetas, which centre on retaining the existing four-storey structure, re-use of materials and the introduction of extensive greening, will be delivered by Blenheim House Construction.

Philip George, Project Director, Grosvenor Britain & Ireland commented: “By making environmental performance central to our success factors from day one, we’re now proving the huge potential for transforming outdated offices into exemplary zero carbon workspaces.

“The work put in by the whole team to drive down embodied and operational carbon has created a new benchmark for building adaptation and retrofit in London.”

An early whole life carbon assessment minimised upfront embodied carbon, meaning the development will exceed the LETI Pioneer Project embodied carbon target of 500kgCO₂/m².

In achieving this, Grosvenor has focussed on façade retention and trialling new low embodied carbon products including cross-laminated timber in the extension, CEMFREE Concrete, Thermalite aircrete blockwork, and reclaimed raised access flooring. Grosvenor is re-using existing steelwork from the building in addition to re-purposing steels from the business’ Bermondsey site.

Zero waste will be sent to landfill and strip out waste will be traded on re-use marketplace Globe Chain.

The in-use energy efficiency of the all-electric scheme will be enhanced through effective lighting and mechanical equipment, on-site renewable energy generation, blue roofs and sustainable urban drainage systems.

Biodiversity is significantly enhanced through the extensive landscaping and greening of over 11% of the building’s gross sq ft.

Holbein Gardens is also helping drive forward industry knowledge on delivering low carbon buildings. It is acting as a LETI Pioneer Project and is aligned to NABERS methodology.

Grosvenor is targeting BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Gold and Wired Score Gold certifications for the completed project.