The fitout of the Palestra Building for Transport for London has won two awards in the Better Buildings Partnership Awards 2009, supported by the Mayor and the London Development Agency. Its aim is to develop solutions to improve the sustainability of London’s existing commercial building stock and achieve substantial CO2 savings in support of the Mayor’s target of 60% by 2025.

Gold Portfolio Award
Building Operational Improvement Award: Mention

Transport for London has demonstrated innovative ways to carry out sustainable retrofit in existing buildings, which not only reduce carbon significantly but pay for themselves through energy savings. The improvements that TfL made to the Palestra building after they acquired the head lease have earned them a special mention in the Building Operational Improvement category of the BBP awards.

TfL acquired the head lease for the Palestra building in August 2006 as part of an accommodation strategy to move over 2,000 staff from other short lease occupancies to a single building in central London. A meticulous retrofitting of the Palestra building increased its BREEAM (a global environmental assessment certification for buildings) from ‘very good’ to ‘excellent’ in compliance with the TfL and Mayoral sustainability criteria for reducing CO2 emissions and running costs.

Over 72 different points were addressed by TfL to turn the Palestra building into a truly inspiring example of sustainable building retrofit. From new recycling measures ensuring less than eight percent of waste sent to landfill, to using recycled tube windows as kitchen countertops, the iconic office space functions efficiently with minimal environmental impact. Other measures include an integrated on-site roof-mounted renewable energy source with wind turbines, the UK’s largest building fuel cell as well as a large absorption chiller.

Transport for London is leading the way in addressing climate change and driving change within its property portfolio, exemplified by its work at the Palestra building. The independent judging panel stated that “TfL is setting a standard that the private sector needs to catch up with".

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