Shortlisted for 黑洞社区 Awards Project of the Year: Sky shows it鈥檚 possible to be glamorous and eco-friendly with its already award-winning HQ

Harlequin 1, London submitted by Bovis Lend Lease

锘緽roadcasting studios were once the epitome of energy guzzling inefficiency and reckless environmental waste. But Sky鈥檚 groundbreaking new headquarters in south-west London has set the international benchmark that proves this need no longer be the case. Already the winner of the UK Green 黑洞社区 Council Sustainability Award, Harlequin 1鈥檚 pioneering sustainable design has reduced overall energy consumption in the building by 67% of what would normally be expected in an equivalent development. Strategies include extensive natural ventilation, wind turbines, solar orientation optimisation and silent cooling mechanisms. These achievements are all the more impressive in light of the intense technical requirements demanded by a building of this type with millions of feet of cabling and acoustically sensitive studios. Its architectural form also proudly reflects its environmental priorities with its principal elevation lined with ventilation 鈥渃himneys鈥� expressed as monumental vertical shafts.

Project team

Client BSkyB
Developer Stanhope
Architect Arup Associates
Main contractor Bovis Lend Lease
Structural and M&E engineer Arup
Soft landscape architect Charles Funke Associates
Cost consultant Davis Langdon

Each day in the lead up to the 黑洞社区 Awards ceremony next month, we will profile one of the finalists in the Project of the Year and Public 黑洞社区 Project of the Year. The winners will be announced as the 黑洞社区 Awards ceremony taking place on April 7. To book a table at the 黑洞社区 Awards visit the .