Eden, a 12-story office block in Salford Central has been completed after two-and-a-half years of construction. The building is part of the c. €1.2b regeneration of Salford Central and is the work of English Cities Fund. Its most distinctive feature is its massive living facade made up of over 350,000 plants from ferns to bluebells. The building aimed to be energy efficient, net-zero, low on embodied carbon, and promote wellness.
ECF and its partners constructed a 10,683m2 office block with 664kg of carbon dioxide per square metre, thanks to a fabric-first approach, repurposing materials, and Passivhaus principles. The building has a 60:40 solid-to-glazing ratio, no basement, and uses air-source heat pumps and raised access floors. The living wall also serves a purpose beyond aesthetics by improving biodiversity, removing pollutants, and lowering urban temperatures.
There is space to store 150 cycles and changing rooms for those commuters. A wellness suite can be found on the mezzanine, complete with treatment rooms and a studio.
Eden has achieved a 5.5-star NABERS Design Reviewed Target Rating and exceeded the UK Green Buildings Council’s 2030–2050 office base-build energy performance target, achieving 41kWh/m2/yr.
Simon Wyatt, sustainability partner at Cundall commented: “When we embarked on this project, the aspiration to make Eden ultra-sustainable with ambitious energy and embodied carbon targets was out of the ordinary. The result as we come to completion is a best-in-class development that will be the ‘greenprint’ for the next generation of net zero buildings”
Salford City Mayor Paul Dennett said: “With its pioneering sustainability credentials and incredible façade, Eden isn’t just a local legend, it is a national icon, that we are truly proud of. It’s a beacon of our city’s carbon neutrality commitments, it provides a blueprint for the future of the construction sector and is another bold testament to our city’s reputation for innovation.”
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