Pioneering Severn Trent building tops out in Coventry

The building of Severn Trent Water’s new £60m operational centre on St John Street in Coventry reached a new milestone last week, marked with a traditional topping out ceremony.

The new 170,000 sq ft centre, which will eventually be home to 1,700 staff, has reached the full extent of its 38m height, with the top floor and roof now in place.

The seven-storey scheme is being built by BAM Construction with the help of £6.5m from Advantage West Midlands and support from Coventry City Council and aims to set new industry standards with one of the lowest carbon footprints for any UK office building.

The partners involved in the building’s funding, planning, design and construction joined together on Thursday 29 October to mark the achievement.

Tasked with adding the final concrete to the building’s top floor, Severn Trent Water Chief Executive Tony Wray, told guests that the building was symbolic for the company in a number of ways.

“It marks a new beginning for Severn Trent, and embodies what we’re about. It demonstrates our credentials in terms of environmental and quality standards. It’s indicative of the way we work with our partners, together applying innovation, taking on challenges, raising standards and delivering in a timely and cost-efficient way,” he said.

“All those involved – the architects, designers, builders, projects team, Advantage West Midlands, Stoford Developments and Coventry City Council – should take pride in what has been achieved so far and be ready to take on the challenges to come as we head towards building completion next August.”

Michelle Egan, Partnerships Manager at Advantage West Midlands, said: “It is tremendously important – particularly at a time of economic uncertainty – that Coventry and the West Midlands are able to attract and retain high value companies and high quality jobs. This scheme is a major opportunity for the area’s highly skilled workforce and we are proud to work with Stoford to make this a reality.”

Councillor Gary Ridley, cabinet member for City Development, said: "I was delighted when Severn Trent announced it would be opening major new offices in Coventry city centre. That new centre is now so close you can almost reach out and touch it.

“It's a real vote of confidence in the future of Coventry and is recognition for our ambitions to lead the city through the 21st century.”

David Brown, Director of Stoford, said: “Stoford is delighted to have played a key role in bringing together the various stakeholders to deliver such a fantastic project for Coventry.

“We have been very impressed with the entire team’s performance. It has ensured that everyone is working in partnership to develop an exceptional building of the highest quality with excellent sustainability credentials.”

“This is one of the most significant projects in the region and on completion, will be a highly-sophisticated energy efficient building featuring the latest technology,” said Richard Dakin, Director for BAM Construction in the West Midlands.

“This will include thermal adaptive cooling, biomass boilers, photovoltaic panels, solar panels and rainwater harvesting. These, with other innovative solutions, will provide a building with BREEAM Excellent rating, designed and built to the highest standards.”

Moving to the new building will enable Severn Trent to close a number of its less carbon and cost-efficient buildings, delivering operational savings. The company will also be able to release the redundant assets for future sale.

Stoford has worked with Birmingham-based Associated Architects, Webb Gray Architects, and engineering services consultants ESC on the sustainable design.