The Co-operative Group’s new head office in Manchester has been declared the most environmentally-friendly new building in the world.
The accolade came on the day that Her Majesty The Queen, accompanied by His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh, will tour One Angel Square and then unveil a plaque to mark the formal opening of the 14 storey building in the city centre.
The Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), an internationally acclaimed system of assessing buildings, gave One Angel Square a score of 95.16% – the highest ever awarded.
The unprecedented award comes as a result of the building’s many environmentally friendly features, which include power generated from crops grown on the Group’s farms; heating and cooling the premises by drawing air below the basement and redistributing it at the earth’s core temperature; and a double skin façade that acts as a ‘duvet’ to insulate the offices in the winter and ventilate it in the summer.
