Redeveloping a Grade II listed 1960 building into an ultra-efficient innovation hub
Success Story: Bruntwood Pall Mal
7,900 TONNES CO2e AVOIDED BY RETROFITTING RATHER THAN REBUILDING
EPC A ENERGY PERFORMANCE RATING, UP FROM G
When Bruntwood acquired the iconic Pall Mall building on King Street in 2021 with plans to turn it into a city centre innovation hub, it had been mostly empty for four years.
The building’s original structure, featuring extensive single-glazed windows, meant it risked becoming a stranded asset unable to meet minimum energy efficiency standards.
Despite the constraints of the building’s listed status and compromised performance, Bruntwood opted for a deep retrofit approach that will significantly reduce energy demand without the need for extensive rebuilding works.
A focus on air tightness and façade replacement – combined with an all-electric heating and cooling system, mechanical heat recovery, a smart building management system (BMS) and other technologies – will ensure the building achieves an EPC A rating by the time it is complete in 2025.
Overall, the retrofit will result in much lower embodied carbon compared to a new build. In fact, retaining the original structure avoids 7,900 tonnes of additional carbon being emitted.
The project is proof that significant improvements through retrofit can be achieved in older listed properties, despite planning restrictions.
“Work commencing on our redevelopment of Pall Mall marks an important step in our mission to power economies through innovation, supporting Manchester to continue growing its support for the knowledge economy, and becoming a more environmentally sustainable city.”
Ciara Keeling, Chief Operating Officer at Bruntwood SciTech