Greenford Children and Adult Service Centre

This building for the London Borough of Ealing provides workspace for 150 staff and meeting and interview rooms. Completed in February 2015 it is located on the site of the Ravenor Park maintenance depot. It has been designed to achieve a BREEAM ​‘Very Good’ rating. The building uses a number of low and zero carbon techno­logies including photo voltaic panels, air source heat pumps for the under floor heating and a high efficiency condensing boiler

The overall building volumes were intended to allow potential future development of the building through the insertion of mezzanines. During the detailed design process we were able to expand the office provision in the Greenford design to accommodate three times the original staff population by utilising the provision for future mezzanines and developing the building as two stories.

The existing natural environment was managed throughout the contract. Invasive species such as knotweed and snowberry have been removed along with underground fuel storage tanks and contam­inated soil. The logs from felled trees have been retained on site to create new habitats and native species planted to reinforce the ecology, along with buddleia to encourage increase in the diversity of butterflies and pollinating insects.

The project utilises a number of low and zero carbon techno­logies including photo voltaic panels, air source heat pumps for the underfloor heating and a high efficiency condensing boiler. The building is naturally ventilated: the internal meeting rooms use natural ventilating and sun pipe technology. The main office spaces have cross ventilation on two floors including a shared clerestory between the ground and first floors made possible by an open gallery.

Environmentally the internal roof is an intensive green sedum planted roof and the hard surface areas are permeable for control of water run off.

The existing natural environment was managed throughout the contract. Invasive species such as knotweed and snowberry have been removed along with underground fuel storage tanks and contam­inated soil. The logs from felled trees have been retained on site to create new habitats and native species planted to reinforce the ecology, along with buddleia to encourage increase in the diversity of butterflies and pollinating insects.