Sustainable construction was placed at the core of the first Enterprise Zone office development at Loughborough University Science and Enterprise Park (LUSEP). Featuring TECHNAL aluminium curtain walling, windows and door systems with the curtain walling extruded using Hydro CIRCAL® 75R contributing to reducing the building's carbon footprint and helped to achieve the BREEAM Very Good rating awarded. 

This £22 million project begin in February 2019 and comprises of a 7,500 sqm nett area. four-storey building which houses the headquarters for the leading software company, The Access Group. When completed in November 2020, the office development, funded by Leicestershire County Council, is said to be the largest, single-occupier office deal in Leicestershire.

The TECHNAL team were approached by main contractor Wates Construction to offer specification solutions to suit the aesthetics and meet the technical requirements of the project. Designed around a central core with a linking wing either side, MX Grid Curtain Walling spans vertically, with the facade also incorporating FY65 Casement windows and Stormframe STII doors. 

“The façade design is a combination of metal cladding panels and curtain walling with the two and three-storey expanses of the curtain walling framed by the cladding,” said Kanti Chhapi, Studio Director of SGP. “The overall aesthetic objective of the building was to create a place with strong composition, clean lines, and a memorable identity.

“All the aluminium systems were finished in RAL 7037 matt grey and one bespoke element was the demand for combinations of glass, glass look-a-like, opaque and louvre panels.”

The building’s construction brief outlined a BREEAM Very Good rating. To achieve this successfully, one of the contributing factors was to ensure that all parties involved in the project had a shared sustainability ethos. The Hydro CIRCAL® 75R product aligned to the values outlined in the project's brief.