Pictured above: Michelle Egan, Partnerships Manager
here at AWM, with Severn Trent chief exec and co.
The building of Severn Trent Water's new £60m operational
centre on St John Street in Coventry reached a new milestone last
week, marked with a traditional topping out ceremony.
The new 170,000 sq ft centre, which will eventually be home to
1,700 staff, has reached the full extent of its 38m height, with
the top floor and roof now in place.
The seven-storey scheme is being built by BAM Construction with
the help of £6.5m from Advantage West Midlands and support
from Coventry City Council and aims to set new industry standards
with one of the lowest carbon footprints for any UK office
building.
The partners involved in the building's funding, planning,
design and construction joined together on Thursday 29 October to
mark the achievement.
Tasked with adding the final concrete to the building's top
floor, Severn Trent Water Chief Executive Tony Wray, told guests
that the building was symbolic for the company in a number of
ways.
"It marks a new beginning for Severn Trent, and embodies what
we're about. It demonstrates our credentials in terms of
environmental and quality standards. It's indicative of the way we
work with our partners, together applying innovation, taking on
challenges, raising standards and delivering in a timely and
cost-efficient way," he said.
"All those involved - the architects, designers, builders,
projects team, Advantage West Midlands, Stoford Developments and
Coventry City Council - should take pride in what has been achieved
so far and be ready to take on the challenges to come as we head
towards building completion next August."
Michelle Egan, Partnerships Manager at Advantage West Midlands,
said: "It is tremendously important - particularly at a time of
economic uncertainty - that Coventry and the West Midlands are able
to attract and retain high value companies and high quality jobs.
This scheme is a major opportunity for the area's highly skilled
workforce and we are proud to work with Stoford to make this a
reality."
Councillor Gary Ridley, cabinet member for City Development,
said: "I was delighted when Severn Trent announced it would be
opening major new offices in Coventry city centre. That new centre
is now so close you can almost reach out and touch it.
"It's a real vote of confidence in the future of Coventry and is
recognition for our ambitions to lead the city through the 21st
century."
David Brown, Director of Stoford, said: "Stoford is delighted to
have played a key role in bringing together the various
stakeholders to deliver such a fantastic project for Coventry.
"We have been very impressed with the entire team's performance.
It has ensured that everyone is working in partnership to
develop an exceptional building of the highest quality with
excellent sustainability credentials."
"This is one of the most significant projects in the region and
on completion, will be a highly-sophisticated energy efficient
building featuring the latest technology," said Richard Dakin,
Director for BAM Construction in the West Midlands.
"This will include thermal adaptive cooling, biomass boilers,
photovoltaic panels, solar panels and rainwater harvesting. These,
with other innovative solutions, will provide a building with
BREEAM Excellent rating, designed and built to the highest
standards."
Moving to the new building will enable Severn Trent to close a
number of its less carbon and cost-efficient buildings, delivering
operational savings. The company will also be able to release the
redundant assets for future sale.
Stoford has worked with Birmingham-based Associated Architects,
Webb Gray Architects, and engineering services consultants ESC on
the sustainable design.