31 May 2023 - Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)’s green office retrofit, the Entopia Building, has been shortlisted for the Architects’ Journal (AJ) 100 Awards 2023.
The AJ100 Awards celebrate the achievements of the UK’s largest architecture practices, including those leading the way on sustainability. Entopia has been shortlisted in the ‘Collaboration of the Year’ category alongside four other contenders.
The Entopia Building is an energy-efficient, sustainable retrofit. What used to be a 1930s telephone exchange is now a world-leading example of ‘deep green’ retrofit, aiming for BREEAM certification (Outstanding), the Passivhaus 'EnerPHit' standard and WELL (Gold) certification.
The collaboration award brings together numerous firms that worked together on Entopia. Architype led the architecture, alongside Peter Kelly at contractor ISG and interior designer Eve Waldron.
James Cole, Chief Innovation Officer, CISL said: “As an ‘active client’ with a sustainability mission and collaborative intent, we are pleased that CISL’s sustainability retrofitted HQ and business hub, the Entopia building, has been nominated for this prestigious award. The success of the Entopia retrofit was enabled by many partners in the value chain, committing to a shared vision and cooperative ethos.”
The Entopia project was focused around circularity, cutting energy and carbon impact to help tackle climate change, alongside social and wellbeing factors for people in the building – and in the supply chain.
As well as housing 160 staff at CISL’s offices, it is also home to green business hub, The Canopy. The Canopy opened in October 2022 and provides both a physical workspace for startups and SMEs and a virtual ecosystem where members can network and collaborate.
Ben Humphries, Director at Architype, said: "The best designs always come from a truly collaborative process involving the client, building users and every member of the design and construction team. In the case of Entopia, where we were challenging industry norms to truly showcase circularity and ultra low carbon design, this was extra challenging and the end result is one that could only have been achieved by everyone going the extra mile. We hope the industry now uses Entopia as a best practice benchmark for what is possible in ecological design."
Entopia project partners include 3pm, Architype, BDP, Envision, Eve Waldron Design, Feilden and Mawson, Gardiner & Theobald, ISG and Max Fordham.
Peter Kelly, Director of Sustainable Operations at ISG, said: “This project is the epitome of how all construction delivery partners need to re-focus on prioritising value-based outcomes through a culture of outstanding collaboration. This is especially true if we are to move to a low carbon, circular industry where projects like the Entopia Building become ordinary.”
Those shortlisted for the ‘Collaboration of the Year’ category 2023 are:
- Architype with Peter Kelly at ISG and Eve Waldron for the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership’s Entopia building, Cambridge
- Atkins with Crawford Wright of the DfE on Energy Pods for schools
- The Part Z Team (Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, with IStructE, University of Strathclyde, CIBSE, Targeting ZERO, and Arup) for Part Z
- Hawkins\Brown with Jacob Wilson of Be First on the Public Housing Pattern Book
- Zaha Hadid Architects with Carly Walsh of Education Above All on modular play and education spaces for displaced children
The AJ100 Gala Dinner will take place on 21 June, where the winners of the awards will be revealed. This year the celebratory event will take place at Honourable Artillery Company, EC1Y 2BQ, London.