Article Summary

The six-storey office building will cost £31 million to build, and will be completed in late 2024 if approved by the Manchester City Council. It aims to maintain the highest levels of sustainability during both construction and operation.

The development, named ‘Ev0’, will provide 82,000 ft in office space. It will be situated in Didsbury Technology Park between Spire Hospital, the Sir William Siemens House and Ohm building. Bruntwood Works, who also own the Ohm building in the Technology Park, will lead this project.

Low-carbon aspect

The main concept of this new development is the low carbon emission level. Reducing carbon emission fits in with the Manchester City Council’s goal to be a zero-carbon city by 2038, 12 years before the UK’s goal of being carbon-free by 2050.

The scheme aims to be a blueprint for other developers that also aim to have a net zero carbon emission, aiming for high levels of sustainability. Net zero means that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced and the amount being removed from the atmosphere is the same, causing no harm on the environment.

Upon completion, Bruntwood will aim for 94% of the total energy needed to run the building to be generated on-site. The remaining 6% will be done with the use of Bruntwood’s recently acquired windfarms in Ayrshire, according to the development company.

“Sustainability runs through the heart of everything we do at Bruntwood Works and the development of Ev0 will be a major milestone on our net zero journey,” said Bruntwood Works CEO Ciara Keeling.

Keeling continued: “Ev0 is the culmination of all our work to date, taking everything we have learned to create the UK’s lowest carbon new build.”

The development will operate using only utilise electricity, avoiding fossil fuels completely.

Design

The exterior was designed to maximise solar gain on the north and east elevations, therefore minimising solar gain and overheating on the south and west elevations.

The timber-framed building looks stunning in the CGIs provided by the company. There are several long, skinny windows on each side of the building, and even more on the ceiling of it.

The energy will be generated in two places, with one mini power plant on the roof and another in the car park. The building will be run with a smart management system too, therefore reducing running costs and energy usage for the building.

Manchester’s zero-carbon goal

The Manchester City Council outlined plans to become a zero-carbon city by 2038, even managing to reduce the Council’s direct carbon emissions 54.7% between 2010 and 2020. However, direct emissions only make up 2% of the City’s total, as other key areas with more impact have been focused on. Some of these are: planning, building regulation, housing, transport and economic growth.

There is a city-wide framework in that has been produced by Manchester Climate Change Partnership. The plan sets out what the City and its people can do in order to ‘play its full part in limiting the effects of climate change’.

Manchester City Council also has a Climate Change Action Plan from 2020-25. It is split into separate actions and changes that the Council can make in order to reduce emissions they produce and actions they can take to support the city to achieve its climate change ambitions.

Some of the things listed by the Council that they aim to do are: improve their use of city centre space, promote sustainable and active travel, improve air quality, plant more trees and end fuel poverty. If these can all be achieved, it will no doubt put Manchester en-route to being zero-carbon in the next decade or so. 

Investment in Manchester

Overall, each of these factors help to contribute to Manchester’s ever-growing economy and its thriving tourism. The Greater Manchester region’s tourism sector is worth £7.9 billion, highlighting the size and popularity of the City.

More people than ever are relocating up North from the South, with Manchester being the most populous city in the UK after London. Evidently, it is the ideal time to invest in property in Manchester as the city, its population and economy continues to grow.

To find out more about Manchester and the properties we have available there, click here.