Windmill Green is a back-to-frame redevelopment, sustainable to its core. When completed, no other building in the city had been constructed to such exacting environmental standards – it is the gold standard for refurbishment projects in Manchester, if not the UK.

Purchased with planning permission to demolish the building and replace it with a 17-storey new build, we instead chose to keep the structure and its embodied carbon, and simply extended it outwards and upwards to increase the area by 60%.

The building has won multiple awards in recognition of its deep focus on low-carbon improvements, materiality, creative design, future of workspaces, biophilia, and technology. The 13,000 sq ft floors use high tech in-floor heating and cooling, 30% more energy efficient than traditional systems. And lighting that comes in a third if typcial energy consumption. A 5,000 plant green wall, a Brompton hire pod, and the City’s first private scooter fleet are among the innovations. Overall operational carbon was reduced by 85%.

Social impact is equally imbedded into the design and daily life of the building, often hosted in the rooftop community room.

Windmill Green stands among the very first of a new breed of forward-thinking offices that serve occupiers’ dual need to reduce their carbon footprint and express their deeper social purpose.

Awards

BREEAM Excellent
Wired Score Platinum
Cycle Score Platinum
BCO Most Innovative Office (Northwest)
RICS Social Impact award, Commercial (Northwest)
PropertyWeek Wellbeing Award
Finalist: Architects Journal “Best Retrofit”
BCO “Best UK Office”
RIBA “MacEwen Award” for social impact, Greater Manchester
Chamber of Commerce “Building of the Year”
Inspired Spaces North “Best Office”

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