Cheshire Police HQ, Blacon
Mott MacDonald and Fairhurst were commissioned by Cheshire Police to design its new 2800m2 headquarters in Blacon. Sustainability and energy efficiency were key objectives for this project along with cost and the need for a quick delivery.
The team opted for a steel framed solution, rather than concrete, due to the relative cost and time savings the material offered. The steel framed building was designed to achieve thermal mass, providing ‘inertia’ against temperature fluctuations.
Edward Murphy, Mott MacDonald Technical Director says: Thermal mass can, if designed correctly, be just as effective within an exposed precast floor with a steel frame as it can within a concrete frame. In this instance we chose to use steel with precast because of the cost and time efficiencies that it offered.
As a result of using a steel frame to achieve thermal mass, approximately 5% was saved on the cost over a concrete solution and the job was completed four weeks earlier than would otherwise have been expected.
| Architect | |
| Structural Engineer | Fairhurst |
| Steelwork Contractor | |
| Main Contractor | Mott MacDonald |
| Client | Cheshire Police |