Planning & Regulatory Advice

Curzon Cineman

by

The Curzon Cinema in Mayfair is a timeless emblem of cinematic heritage, however in recent years has fallen into decline. 38 Curzon Lease Limited is embarking on a transformative journey to retain and revitalise the culturally important site, breathing new life into the Grade 2 listed building while championing cutting-edge sustainability practices. The essence of the project lies in the seamless amalgamation of Curzon Cinema and the existing restaurant. From the basement to the second floor, the redevelopment not only ensures the retention and reuse of the existing Cinema use, but also enhances additional cinema-focused ancillary activities. Envision spearheaded the sustainability strategy for the site, helping to navigate the complex planning process with a sustainability and energy strategy which pays full respect to the constraints of the existing building.

Envision provided a comprehensive suite of services aligning with the project’s ambitious goals:

  • Developed a sustainability strategy, preserving the historical significance of Curzon Cinema.
  • Conducted a BREEAM Pre-Assessment against RFO 2014 criteria, striving for a minimum BREEAM Very Good rating.
  • Coordinated with various stakeholders and conducted a Design Team Workshop to review options, ensuring alignment with BREEAM goals.
  • Undertook an energy assessment and emission reduction strategy following the GLA Guidance on Energy Assessment (2022) for major refurbishment. This detailed process aimed to showcase that the development has made the fullest contribution to minimizing CO₂ emissions, in line with Policy 36 of the Westminster City Plan (2021).
  • Undertook thermal comfort analysis to demonstrate how the building could maintain comfortable and efficient year round operating temperature, whilst introducing new glazing and openable windows.

Envision navigated the Grade 2 listed constraints of the building, ensuring the decarbonisation strategy respected the historical significance of the building whilst aligning with the Westminster City Plan. Considering London’s urban heat island effects, an in-depth TM52 overheating analysis was conducted, demonstrating compliance with CIBSE TM52: 2013 methodology for occupied spaces. Envision’s robust energy strategy, overcoming the constraints of the listed building status, included measures such as glazing replacement, transitioning to an all-electric scheme, and upgrading ventilation systems. This resulted in a 28.65% reduction in CO₂ emissions, significantly contributing to Westminster City Plan goals and aligning with future climate objectives through an all-electric solution.

  • The proposals centre on retaining and reusing the existing Curzon Cinema building with minimal interventions, preserving London’s built heritage. Key sustainable design features include selective strip-out of low-quality features, exploration of material reuse, and a commitment to at least 95% waste diversion from landfill. The project embraces a car-free site, secure cycle parking, water efficiency measures, waste storage alignment with BREEAM standards, and attaining ‘Air Quality Neutral’ status, showcasing unwavering dedication to environmental responsibility . Envision’s expertise in delivering sustainability and energy assessments shaped the success of the Curzon Cinema Redevelopment.

TWI Granta Park

by

Granta Park is a partnership between TWI and BioMed Realty Trust, Inc. offering a purpose-built Science Park covering 120 acres. Launched in 1997, Granta Park is home to World-leading companies as well as offering smaller office and R&D/laboratory space.

TWI is one of the world’s foremost independent research and technology organisations, with expertise in materials joining and engineering processes. Project Reform focuses on TWI’s ambition to transform parts of its estate at Granta Park to enable the company to deliver its core business operations and maintain its headquarters, whilst consolidating operations to reflect changing working patterns post Covid -19.

The proposals involved a new masterplan, which focused on retaining existing high quality buildings, whilst redeveloping certain existing buildings to attract new tenants. All within an enhanced landscape setting. The objective was to provide renewed facilities which place wellbeing and environmental efficiency at the heart of its design. 

With a site of just under 10 hectares, Envision has worked closely with TWI to define the sustainability strategy for the estate up to the submission of an outline planning application which was approved in January 2024. The scheme delivers a total footprint across the entire TWI estate of over 64,000 sqm of floorspace for offices, laboratories, training facilities and workshops, in a high-quality design led by Hawkins Brown and managed by No6 Developments.

Envision provided a multi – disciplinary team to provide a coordinated sustainability strategy for the scheme. Our support included MEP feasibility to review the site’s existing buildings and the opportunity to move away from gas led systems to more efficient heat pump led solutions.

Envision developed the sustainability objectives for the project, the operational energy assessment, the BREEAM certification strategy and the water neutrality strategy.

The team worked closely with officers in South Cambridgeshire, as well as the Design Review Panel to justify the redevelopment proposals. Through the application’s determination various challenges emerged, including the concern with water scarcity restricting decisions on new development floorspace within the region. Envision demonstrated by calculation that the proposed development following its new floorspace strategy would implement water efficiency measures in both its new and existing buildings, such that it could continue to operate within existing water use levels. This would be achievable through high levels of water efficiency and rainwater capture and re-use.

Empire Mews

by

Empire Mews is located off Streatham High Road. The site was previously home to the Hideaway Jazz Club, which closed in February 2020. There’s long been a need for a new hotel in Streatham to accommodate tourists and local businesses. The client team identified that a hotel would make a positive contribution to the local economy through the creation of new jobs and significant local investment. The scheme is located opposite Streatham Railway Station and is in a highly accessible location to public transport options, making the site ideal for a hotel.

The scheme proposed a 114 bedroom Travelodge hotel with flexible commercial uses and had a strong focus on sustainability. The development has been designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent with a wide range of passive and active measures to reduce energy consumption, from improved building fabric construction, electrified heating and hot water via ASHPs and the incorporation of waste water heat recovery systems. The building also incorporates PV panels and green roofs, balancing the requirements for renewable energy generation and urban greenspace. The scheme provides enhances pedestrian accessibility and 100% EV charging points for accessible parking.

Envision worked as part of a multi- disciplinary design team led by Mountford Pigott Architects, with Quod as planning consultants. Envision provided energy and sustainability support through the early stages of design, helping to facilitate the scheme to meet BREEAM Excellent and London Plan energy standards. Our support included co-ordinating various technical studies to ensure that the early time based requirements of BREEAM were fully achieved. Envision led various workshops to facilitate this outcome.

The project, which was subject to a lengthy determination process had to overcome changes to Part L during the scheme development. We leveraged our expertise in energy use within buildings to develop a strategy to achieve a 35% reduction beyond Part L 2021 standards through the use of an all-electric scheme, focusing on demand reduction and measures energy consumption from hot water – the buildings biggest annual demand. Through determination Envision represented the scheme at committee, speaking to committee members of the sustainability initiatives. The support helped to secure a positive planning outcome in June 2023.