The Chartered Association of Building Engineers
Helping CABE become a net zero carbon organisation by 2025 through a low-energy retrofit of their office
We were selected by CABE through a competitive process to work on the complete refurbishment of their two-storey office building in Northampton. Built in 1977 the office had become rather dated, performed poorly, and no longer reflected CABE’s role as a professional registration body in the construction industry.
CABE’s brief was to focus on achieving tangible improvements to the building’s performance, notably in terms of thermal performance, ventilation, accessibility, lighting, and acoustics. CABE also required some internal reconfiguration to make the office more welcoming and accommodating, and a complete internal re-design to update the appearance.
The refurbishment was part of CABE’s wider programme to restructure the organisation and essential to the brief was that it should reflect their values as a forward-looking and environmentally-responsible professional body.
The project demonstrates how on a limited budget an existing office building can be dramatically transformed. A strict approach to reduce, re-use and re-cycle was established early in the project and new items were only purchased where a clear benefit could be identified, and in these instances recycled and low carbon materials and products were specified. The approach was highly successful but requires a shift in perception, and an appreciation of a different type of aesthetic which values age and imperfection over the new.
CABE is a unifying voice within the construction sector. As a professional body they bring together members who work across the life-cycle of the built environment specialising across a wide range of disciplines. CABE shares knowledge, raises standards and develops professionals, enabling them to meet the highest standards we all expect of them.
Retro-fit Stories : Watch our four minute film about the project
Dr Gavin Dunn, Chief Executive of CABE
“We selected Stagg Architects after a competitive interview process in which they demonstrated that they best understood the needs and ambitions of our organisation. CABE are a professional membership body in the construction industry and so it was vital that the architect would be keen to collaborate, embrace our agenda, and help deliver the project on time and budget.
Ben Stagg personally led the project and worked with us closely to navigate the various challenges we encountered. The result is a massively improved workspace for our staff and members; better ventilated, better insulated, brighter, lighter, healthier, fully accessible and more comfortable, as well as consuming far less energy. It is now a place to which we are proud to invite our guests and demonstrated first-hand the ways we can use simple technologies to make big improvements to existing buildings and help address the climate emergency.”
