National Trust HQ wins top award (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

National Trust HQ wins top award

11:58am Wednesday 21st March 2007 in Swindon By Gazette Reporter

Swindon's Heelis building has scooped a national award for it's green credentials.

The National Trust headquarters in Kemble Drive won the Civic Trust's sustainability award at a ceremony in Blackpool.

Heelis was chosen ahead of 60 other schemes, including a Stornaway visitor centre that is powered by a waterwheel.

Sir Peter Hall, a professor of Planning at University College London, made the main speech at the ceremony in the Winter Gardens on Monday night.

The awards acknowledge national successes in building, renovating or regenerating public and private buildings.

The Heelis building was chosen for its impeccable environmental standards. It is a low-energy office on a brownfield site with a space in its reception for a public shop and a café.

The two-storey deep open-plan office is naturally ventilated with a myriad of chimneys and is lit by daylight.

The performance of the banks of solar panels on the roof is displayed in the entrance hall and the staff cars are restricted to car-sharers.

The Civic Trust Awards are not normally green-themed, but it was a strong feature of many of this year's entrants.

There were award categories for biodiversity, health and well-being, rural design and sustainability. Other entrants received commendations for buildings and landscaping that had a positive impact on local communities.

The Heelis building was chosen ahead of an extension to the Eden Project, a visitor centre in Windsor Great Park made of locally harvested timber and a visitor centre in Kent, which makes high use of renewable energies.

Peter Bembridge, managing director of the Civic Trust, said: "The high standard of entries, combined with an increased awareness of sustainability has led to more buildings which not only meet the needs of local communities through good design, but have also made environmental impact a key aspect of the project."

The Civic Trust is an independent, national organisation with charitable status.

For more information visit www.civictrust.org.uk.