Queen Elizabeth II Court

Constructed in the 1960s, Hampshire County Council's Ashburton Court required a major overhaul to transform it into Queen Elizabeth II Court, a contemporary office facility that met the client's accommodation requirements and sustainability ambitions. Mace was successful on both counts, introducing new ways of working to provide a more efficient and effective workplace, while incorporating sustainable features to deliver one of the lowest carbon emission buildings in the UK. The scale of this achievement is evident in its BREEAM Excellent rating and the Carbon Trust's use of Elizabeth II Court as an example of how a refurbished building can deliver significant carbon reductions.

Mace was involved from the outset, completing feasibility studies and appointing a team to deliver the ambitious scheme within budget. By introducing new ways of working, including flexible working spaces and modern IT infrastructure, a 30 percent improvement in space utilisation was achieved, including a 55 percent reduction in document storage. The design philosophy was focused on creating the most sustainable building possible, and resulted in a 70 percent carbon reduction and 50 percent reduction in energy consumption costs. A move management strategy involving more than 2,000 individual moves was devised and implemented to decant the building's 600 employees ahead of the works, and move 1,100 back into the refurbished space. The staff to workstation ratio was increased from 1:1 to an average of 3:2.