We’re thrilled to announce that Mary Ward Centre is on the Structural Awards Shortlist 2024.
Mary Ward Centre is an adult education charity that required larger premises due to their expanding service offering. They secured a loan agreement for the refurbishment and extension of Queensway House in Stratford – a derelict 1970s concrete framed office building approximately 60% too small to cater for Mary Ward’s needs.
We collaborated closely with the client, design, and construction team to fully refurbish the building and extend it from four to six-storeys. The recently transformed building provides much needed workspace for Mary Ward’s Legal Centre, a new performing arts theatre, cafe, flexible teaching areas, and community spaces.
To calculate the CO2 saving by opting for refurbishment, as opposed to a demolition and new build approach, a new steel framed building with concrete slabs on metal decking was created as a comparison; modelled in Revit, assuming same foundations as the refurbishment option.
By fully modelling the frame in Revit, Technicians used the EOC ECO2 plug-in to calculate the volume of new material and the Structural Carbon Tool for CO2 amounts for individual elements. The refurbishment option demonstrated a 40% reduction in embodied carbon when compared to constructing a new building, excluding demolition of the frame, with the refurbishment and extension meeting LETI’s targets.
The building prioritises inclusivity for those uncomfortable in traditional college environments. Our responsibility was to actualise the architectural vision while focusing on the structural efficiency and minimising embodied carbon.
The engineers played a fundamental role in giving the client and stakeholders the confidence to strengthen and reuse the existing building rather than demolish. Their diligent and determined approach demonstrated a viable future for the existing structure. The project is a substantial retrofit and vertical extension which doubled the building size, achieving a complete transformation with significant carbon savings. The before and after transformation is remarkable.
Judge’s comments
To view the full Structural Award shortlist, click here.