Wessex Water Operations Centre in Bath was presented at the AT Awards live finals on 7 November 2022 at the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health to a jury comprising, Heather Topel, Asif Din, Amin Taha, Farshid Moussavi, Matt Kennedy, and Chair Lee Mallett. Read about how the project has stood the test of time, below.
Located on a sloping site, the building adopts a low profile, rising above existing stone walls. Credit: Peter Cook/View
At the end of 2019, Bennetts Associates revisited its iconic Wessex Water Operations Centre in Bath en masse to see how it had performed and share results from nearly 20 years of occupation. The verdict was overwhelmingly positive: the original design and environmental objectives had been more than met and company chairman said he “wouldn’t change a thing.”
Located on a steeply-sloping site in a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the building adopts a low profile, with most of the office accommodation occupying three uniform wings, and an internal street following the topography. The scheme incorporates a wide range of passive and active environmental technologies, including natural ventilation, low-embodied energy, good daylight, reductions in transport, waste reduction and recycling, photovoltaics and enhanced biodiversity.
The project’s enduring success demonstrates the value of simple, robust buildings that don’t rely on complex mechanical systems for comfortable internal conditions. Credit: Peter Cook/View
The building achieved the highest ever BREEAM rating for a commercial office building, attaining environmental standards that are comparable to the low-carbon targets currently being set in 2022. The project also trialled the BRE’s new ‘Envest’ software to minimise lifetime embodied carbon – the first UK building to do so on a large scale.
The building’s enduring popularity shows that users enjoy seasonal fluctuations in temperature and prefer simple, robust buildings that don’t rely on complex mechanical systems to airconditioned alternatives. All of the energy-saving strategies have proved successful, with floor-air-supply offering an alternative to opening windows in cooler, more northerly climates.
Since Wessex Water, Bennetts Associates has teamed up with engineer Buro Happold, contractor Mace and landscape architect Andrew Grant for numerous projects, and they have been able to build in the feedback and lessons from previous schemes.
Office accommodation is in three uniform wings laid out as an E-shape on plan.
