Brickfields, Hoxton

Brickfields is a new-build business centre that houses 5,000m2 of high specification office space over five floors. The project team included architects Witherford Watson Mann, mechanical and electrical (M&E) contractor Max Fordham and main contractor HG Construction.
Soft Landings is a BSRIA-led building delivery process that runs from inception to completion and beyond, to ensure all decisions are based on improving the building’s operational performance. By using this process to increase collaboration between the design, construction and facilities management teams, Workspace aimed to:
Engaging closely with Workspace, Max Fordham took the Soft Landings Framework BG 54 and tailored it. This bespoke framework separates the process into five phases: pre-handover, first six months post-handover, first year, first two years and first three years. It then details actions for each phase, outlining the scope of assessments and identifying an initiator and participants for every action.
Workspace’s Development Manager advocated the Soft Landings process to the whole project team, showing senior support. Requirements were then written into the project specification and contracts. This meant the main contractor and subcontractors allowed time for their teams to attend Soft Landings meetings and site visits.
The process involved:
Workspace and its design and construction partners are already putting the lessons learnt at Brickfields into practice in other new centres, from tighter noise specifications for air conditioning units to zoned lighting systems. Workspace is also looking at rolling out its tailored Soft Landings framework to other projects.
Soft Landings represented around 4% of project costs and delivered an improved working environment for customers. The building will also be easier and more efficient to operate, generating ongoing savings for energy in particular. In addition, there were time savings during commissioning and handover, as the FM team was already familiar with building systems.
Increased collaboration between the design, construction and FM teams led to a building that performs better:
The aftercare process over the first three years should also close any gap between predicted and actual building performance, maximising efficiency, reducing energy costs and cutting carbon emissions.
"The more contact you have with people who interact with the things you design, the better. At Brickfields, we spoke to a number of occupiers about how they interact with the building, which was very useful. As designers, we think a lot about all the possible permissions and then, of course, the first person you speak to has a new one! With a repear client like Workspace, you can use that feedback straightaway to improve the the next centre, which is invaluable, giving the client a better building for their customers. We would advocate Soft Landings or a similar collaborative approach on every project."
Peter Creaney of Max Fordham
Sustainable redevelopment | Brickfields |
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Investing in our people | Our teams |
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