Bicester Eco-Business Centre
This £3m zero carbon, Passivhaus and BREEAM Outstanding office development is in the NW Bicester eco-development. It is part of the UK’s first eco-town which will provide up to 6,000 sustainable new homes for Bicester in Oxfordshire and the exemplar area, Elmsbrook, is the first stage of the project.
Intended to showcase the development, the building demonstrates how best practice sustainability principles are embedded in the project from the outset.
The three-storey office has full external shading to moderate solar gains and connects to the district energy centre which is powered by gas-CHP. Analysis of unregulated energy resulted in the offsetting of all carbon emissions through an additional photovoltaic array to create a true zero-carbon building. The offices are super-insulated to achieve Passivhaus Plus certification, with ultra-low air tightness and mechanical ventilation with heat recovery.
At the 2019 Royal Town Planning Institute Awards for the South East, the project was recognised for “excellence in planning for a successful economy”.
