One Piccadilly Gardens, Manchester.
A flagship live-building retrofit helping Legal & General progress its net zero ambitions in the heart of the city centre.
Decarbonising operational assets.
Futureproofing occupied workplaces.
We work with Legal & General (L&G) across their property portfolio to help them set the standard in tenant experience while delivering on ambitious carbon reduction goals. They recognise the crucial role that built environment consultants, like us, play in achieving this – and One Piccadilly Gardens (OPG), a premium multi-tenanted workplace in the heart of Manchester, is a standout example.
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Hoare Lea wholly embraced the vision. You brought intellect, knowledge and experience to our building and facilities management team which is unique in the industry.
Mark Tyson, Head of Property Operations
The challenge
Heat pump opportunity
The existing gas boiler heating system at OPG needed to be replaced. This was the perfect opportunity to make the transition to energy-efficient heat pumps. Despite the complexity, the project had to proceed without disturbing occupants, safeguarding business continuity for all parties.
Our approach
Informed recommendations
Our approach was to develop a deep understanding of how the building was being used, analysing data from the building management system and speaking to the facilities management team, and use this knowledge to inform our designs. Our resulting design replaced one of the existing air source chillers with a bivalent electric heat pump, providing both heating and chilled water. This part of the project was completed in the summer, when demand on the system is typically low. We then paired this with an electric cascaded water source heat pump to provide additional levels of heating in colder conditions. Once installed, the gas boiler could then be removed.
Using our data-led approach, we reduced the required capacity of the heating system by more than half, from 2MW boilers to a 750kW heat pump system which reduced costs, reclaimed valuable space, and boosted operational efficiency.
Using our data-led approach, we reduced the required capacity of the heating system by more than half, from 2MW boilers to a 750kW heat pump system which reduced costs, reclaimed valuable space, and boosted operational efficiency.
The outcome
Reduced carbon emissions
The new heating and cooling system has more than doubled the efficiency of the chiller it replaced, a significant reduction in energy consumption, and it eliminated the building's Scope 1 carbon emissions.
Key Figures
Zero
Tenant disruptions
70%
Reduction in carbon emissions
Zero
Scope 1 carbon emissions