Curtins provided civil and structural engineering services for this new build iconic headquarters in Peterborough for Associated British Foods and their associated companies.

The three-storey building provides approximately 4,700sqm of office space and 340 parking spaces.  Providing space for 300 employees, the building includes training and conferencing facilities, a coffee bar and separate café plus various types of meeting spaces and collaborative working areas all grouped around a focal atrium space.

The building has been designed to Passivhaus principles for improving staff well-being,  organisational change, modernising working practices and engaging staff with the strategy for the future of the business. Daylight and flexibility of working environments are key design drivers informing solutions such as the large atrium and over 400 glass external louvres fitted to the external elevations that track the sun and control the level of internal light without obstructing views.

Key points:

• Former clay pit excavated for Oxford Clay for the manufacturer of bricks.
• Subsequently the lagoons were filled with PFA (Pulverised Fuel Ash) from power station waste.
• Piled foundation solution with consideration for quarry edge.
• Passivhaus principles used to provide a high level of occupant comfort whilst using very little energy for heating and cooling.

Awards: 

• BCO Midlands Corporate Workplace of the Year Award 2020