44 Esplanade Recognised for Green Credentials at Business Awards

Jersey based building contractor, Camerons, and Ogier,one of the world’s leading providers of offshore legal and fiduciary services, have been recognised at the Jersey Enterprise Awards for their role in creating Jersey’s ‘greenest’ building, 44 Esplanade.

Ogier House (44 Esplanade), which is the Channel Islands’ largest and greenest single occupancy office, was awarded the Jersey Electricity Environmental Award at the recent Jersey Enterprise Awards.

We are delighted to have been recognised at such a prestigious business event,’ said Marc Burton, managing director, Camerons. ’Ogier House is a landmark project for Jersey and should set the benchmark for new office developments across the Channel Islands. We have proved that with commitment from the client (Ogier), the developer (JCN), the contractor (Camerons) and the Planning Department we can develop buildings which provide top quality working environments which are also sustainable.This building heralds the beginning of a new era in construction and design.’

In October 2007, local building firm, Camerons, was appointed by developer JCN and Ogier, as main contractor for the Ogier House development. The result of this landmark project is Jersey’s greenest building to date, conforming to a national BREEAM (Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method) standard – the first project in the Channel Islands ever to comply with such stringent environmental benchmarks. The resulting building is not only a stunning piece of design, which is complementary to its surroundings, it is an environmentally sound structure offering the highest levels of office accommodation. With a floor plate large enough to support 700 staff over six floors, containing open plan work areas, state of the art meeting rooms and individual offices, a fully serviced cafe and roof terrace and one of the most sophisticated building management systems (BMS) available, the final product is one which client and contractor are very proud of. The building has been designed and built to very tight tolerances, so the impact of emissions on the environment will be minimal.

In preparation for the build, which commenced February 2008, Camerons sent their project manager, Phil Horsley, to the UK to become a qualified BREEAM assessor. This training enabled Mr Horsley to manage the project to the exacting standards of BREEAM, calculating at every step, the environmental impact of both the construction process and the final product. He managed all aspects of the build, including water and fuel consumption, as well as waste management, to meet the BREEAM target rating of ‘very good’.

The building boasts many innovative features including three nine-metre by nine-metre glass atria, which run through every floor to the roof of the building. The result is an abundance of natural light flooding throughout the office accommodation and a very effective air conditioning system that is regulated by a state of the art building management system.

There is a wealth of innovative technology deployed around Ogier House. The building management system controls lighting, temperature and ventilation and has motion sensors which allow lights to be switched on and off automatically, an incredible feat in a building at approximately 100,000sq feet and fundamentally open plan in design. Drop down projectors, remote controlled blinds and electronic booking remotes at the entrance to each meeting room are all installed and ready for use. The fire alarm is also based on a complex system with more than 2,000 cause and effect stimulators – an open plan area of this size needs an advanced system in order to manage potential situations effectively. In addition to safety, usability and staff comfort is high on the agenda with over 70 meeting rooms, training room facilities with foldaway partitions, bike racks, showers and a fully fitted staff cafe which opens onto a roof terrace boasting unrivalled views over St Helier and St Aubin’s Bay

Camerons takes its environmental responsibilities seriously and is proud to have achieved Considerate Constructor status for Ogier House. Applications to the Considerate Constructor National Site Awards are assessed against an eight point criteria and must score highly in each to be recognised – considerate, environment, cleanliness, good neighbour, respectful, safe, responsible and accountable – all of which are very different measures to those usually applied to traditional construction awards schemes.

The local building contractor also takes pride in its role in the community and earlier this year, the site manager, Steve McCreanney, visited a class of children from Year Five at Rouge Bouillion Primary School to assist with a construction project which the youngsters were undertaking. As the class showed such an interest in construction and the health and safety aspect of the industry, MrMcCreanney invited the group to Ogier House, 44 Esplanade for a site visit. Following the visit, the youngsters all designed a safety on site poster, with the winning design enlarged and mounted on a site board to remind all workers and visitors about the importance of health and safety.

Camerons was the industry’s first Eco Active Business Level 3 accredited company.

‘Achieving the BREEAM standard has been critical for the project team and signals the start of a new era in development, with the environment taking precedence over a great many other considerations. Ogier House demonstrates this new philosophy, bringing together three like-minded organisations, Camerons, JCN and Ogier, to create a technically and environmentally advanced structure that puts Jersey at the forefront of this green development revolution,’ concluded Mr Burton.

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