Cost

Great Glen House is the headquarters of Scottish Natural Heritage, an organisation which relocated from Edinburgh to Inverness as part of the Scottish Executive’s decentralisation strategy. For such a large and complex building, Great Glen House represents extraordinary value for money; the 6,000 m² building was costed and designed to attract a rental income of £160 per m², then the market rate in Inverness. Nonetheless, British Council for offices judges were satisfied that the design intent was realised in the finished building, and costs were kept under control in spite of the extra demands placed on the delivery team. Prompted by the high cost of upgrading and expanding existing facilities, South Cambridgeshire District Council ran a design competition which was eventually won by Aukett in partnership with Cambourne Business Park Ltd, a joint-venture property business. The quality of the building and fit-out must be high, the standard durable to withstand possible continuous operation but with low maintenance costs.