Project spotlight.
11 & 12 Wellington Place.
LEEDS
Services provided: Acoustics, MEP, Operational Assets, Sustainability
Key stakeholders: Arup, CBRE, Lloyds Banking Group, MEPC, NG Bailey, Overbury, Wates
Architect: TP Bennett
11 & 12 Wellington Place is a commercial office development in the city centre of Leeds. It is part of the wider Wellington Place regeneration scheme which looks to transform the area into a modern city neighbourhood for over 16,000 people, spanning office, leisure and retail spaces. At the centre of the development sits Tower Square, one of the largest public spaces in Leeds. The Grade II listed lifting tower dates back to the 1850s and is surround by landscaped gardens.
With £600m invested across the 22-acre site, this scheme has set new standards in sustainable office development and placemaking. 11 & 12 Wellington Place is fully electric, fossil fuel-free, and incorporates smart building technologies. It achieved EPC ‘A’ rating, BREEAM Outstanding and Fitwel Two Star. The buildings were already the first outside of London to achieve a NABERS ‘Design Reviewed Target Rating of Five Stars’ prior to construction, and have now proved their credentials in practice through operational data, where we have played a pivotal role.
A new home.
We were involved in the Lloyds fit out for this project which comprised of over half of the building and saw Lloyds Banking Group create a new home for its 4,200 people working in Leeds. We worked with Overbury and TP Bennett on the fit-out, which included significant changes to the basebuild systems: tenant generator, dedicated rising busbars, new sub-mains and modification of landlord systems. Alongside this, we worked closely with all the stakeholders to ensure that the operational energy requirements would tie through to the tenant fit-out – something often missed in workplace delivery.
A pivotal role.
We completed the NABERS assessments on behalf of the landlord, MEPC, for the in-use phase, helping 11 & 12 Wellington Place achieve both a NABERS DfP certificate and NABERS in-use certification. This is the first property in the UK to obtain these and has become a landmark project for the NABERS scheme, and all workplace buildings in the UK.
These ratings not only recognise design intent, but verified operational performance, demonstrating that sustainability goals can be met in practice. Following a full year of occupancy, comprehensive operational data confirms that the buildings deliver excellent energy efficiency, setting a new benchmark for high-performing workplaces.
Our project team, the landlord team, the Property Manager, CBRE, NG Bailey and the tenants now work closely to ensure systems are run efficiently, with constant energy monitoring, validation and improvement. True collaboration in action.
All images: MEPC & Lloyds Banking Group
The finished product.
The offices are now fully let, and are occupied by major organisations including Arup, JLL, Lloyds Banking Group, EY, GHD and Hill Dickinson. We’re immensely proud of our involvement. The project won ‘New Workplace Project of the Year’ at the CIBSE Building Performance Awards, and was also shortlisted for ‘Collaboration’ and ‘Facilities Management’. If you want to find out more about this brilliant project, contact Philip Mannis who led the NABERS in-use assessment, or Thom Bone who led the Lloyds fit out.