ABSTRACT
Vulcan House is the new Home Offi ce Headquarters in Sheffi eld. It was awarded a BREEAM Excellent rating in May 2006 and was the second highest rated BREEAM building in the UK at the time of the assessment. Architects Hadfi eld Cawkell Davidson worked with consulting engineers Mott MacDonald to develop a building that looks like a modern offi ce development but which, in addition, delivers a very high level of sustainable performance. The Home Offi ce wanted the building to demonstrate how it could help in achieving the government’s target of becoming carbon neutral by 2012. At the same time, the Home Offi ce wished to lease the building rather than own it, and so it asked developers to bid for the project, but set a very prescriptive green brief. Vulcan House demonstrates that it is feasible to construct an environmentally sustainable speculative offi ce development provided the client can guarantee a long-term commitment.
