NATIONAL M&E consultancy Couch Perry Wilkes (CPW) is celebrating after scooping a prestigious industry award for its work on the UK’s largest non-residential building constructed to PassivHaus standard.

CPW was awarded Public Building Energy Project of the Year at the Energy Awards this month for the £42m Centre for Medicine building at the University of Leicester.

The building, which was built by contractor Willmott Dixon, has been widely acclaimed for its impressive energy credentials thanks to a host of features integrated into its design including heat recovery mechanisms within the ventilation system and automated blinds to keep rooms cool. 

Carl Standley, director at CPW, said: “The Centre for Medicine is a truly pioneering project and we are delighted that it has been recognised through this award. The entire project team worked incredibly hard alongside the University to complete this very challenging building.

“Not only is it one of the most energy efficient facilities of its kind in the country, but it has set a new benchmark for energy performance in larger buildings. Achieving PassivHaus certification is really tough, particularly with a project of this scale, and we are all very proud of it.”

The state-of-the-art building comprises a number of environmental features including: a green wall made up of 75,000 individual plants, CTB blinds that track the sun and close automatically to prevent solar gain as well as a ground to air heat exchange system and solar PV panels.

Researchers, staff and students have been brought together at this facility, which will transform medical teaching and improve the lives of many patients across the UK.

CPW along with contractor Willmott Dixon, Associated Architects, Bidwells, Gleeds and Ramboll worked side by side with the university throughout the challenging build process to develop what is an incredibly eco-friendly building which is expected to reduce energy bills by six times compared to a conventional build.

The Energy Award winners were announced at a glittering ceremony hosted in London on 6 December.