Bodmin Council Offices

The Project

With the opening of Cornwall Council's new offices in Bodmin, the dual aims of reducing public expenditure whilst integrating and improving vital services took a step forward. The new three storey building would consolidate a mixed portfolio of up to nine leased and owned buildings, scattered over a wide geographic area. Additional savings are hoped to be made on transport and energy.

The Solution

Coupling energy efficiency with imaginative design, St Ives based architects Poynton Bradbury Wynter Cole selected the Vieo system by Euroclad Group to achieve their required thermal performance.

Set on a diagonal with a tight radius from the vertical to horizontal areas this was a pioneering design for this highly adaptable cladding and roofing system. The building concept is based around two office wings, with the hinge point a prominent glazed main entrance. Large overhangs minimise summer solar gain whilst permitting useful winter gains.

To benefit from cross flow natural ventilation, each of the office wings are around 13.5 m wide, giving optimal cooling. Further carbon reduction methods include rainwater recycling and a number of photovoltaic panels to the roof areas.

During construction, main contractors BAM was subjected to two major site safety inspections. Usually these go unmentioned, however it was a credit to everyone onsite that this was described by the industry's independent Considerate Constructors' Scheme (CCS) inspector as 'exceptional' scoring it 9 out of 10 for safety.