GPA Darlington – Feethams House

Feethams House is the Government Property Agency’s (GPA) refurbished office hub at the heart of the Darlington Economic Campus. It is also home to HM Treasury’s first office outside London. Wates Smartspace appointed Build Energy as BREEAM Assessor and Accredited Professional on the GPA Darlington fit-out. It went on to earn BREEAM Excellent under the 2014 Refurbishment and Fit-Out scheme – the highest rating the GPA has achieved on a refurbishment.

The five-storey office building sits close to Darlington town centre. Construction finished shortly before the pandemic, and the building served as a Covid-19 vaccination centre before the GPA brought it into the Darlington Economic Campus. The campus brings civil service roles from Whitehall to the North East.

Wates Smartspace delivered a high-quality Cat B fit-out covering around 42,000 sq ft. The works created open-plan and cellular offices, meeting rooms, breakout and quiet spaces, a café and refreshment areas. Alongside these sit the secure partitioning, glazed screens and high-security doors that a multi-department government building requires. Inclusivity shaped the design throughout, with spaces planned to support neurodiverse staff and to ease the return to the office after the pandemic.

Since opening in June 2022, the building has accommodated around 600 staff from eight government departments, including HM Treasury and the Office for National Statistics.

Wates Smartspace appointed Build Energy in December 2021 to manage the BREEAM process from start to finish, targeting Excellent from the outset. As BREEAM Assessor, we began with a pre-assessment to map out a realistic route to the rating. This showed which credits the design could secure and where early decisions mattered most.

Our role as BREEAM Accredited Professional ran alongside this, working with Wates and the design team to keep sustainability decisions on track as the design developed.

Specialist Studies to Unlock Credits

In January 2022, Wates extended our appointment to cover the specialist studies behind several BREEAM credits. A life cycle assessment measured the environmental impact of the main building elements, while a life cycle costing study looked at the cost of the fit-out over its lifetime, not just the upfront cost. We also wrote the building user guide, giving staff and the facilities team a clear, non-technical guide to how Feethams House works day to day.

We also prepared the indoor air quality plan, which set out how the team would keep pollutants down during the works. At completion, we returned to monitor and report on indoor air quality before staff moved in.

Feethams House achieved BREEAM Excellent certification, which the GPA has described as its highest-ever BREEAM rating for a refurbished building. Wates’ site performance played its part too, with all 46 tonnes of fit-out waste diverted from landfill and half of the project’s materials sourced locally.

For the GPA, the rating supports its wider commitment to improving the sustainability of the government office estate. It also shows that a fast-track fit-out can reach a high BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit-Out rating when the assessment is managed from day one.

We were delighted to support Wates Smartspace on Feethams House with the following services.

• BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit-Out 2014 assessment, from pre-assessment to certification
• BREEAM Accredited Professional (AP) support
• Mat 01 Life Cycle Assessment
• Man 02 Life Cycle Costing
• Man 04 Building User Guide
• Hea 02 Indoor Air Quality Plan
• Hea 02 Indoor Air Quality Testing

Feethams House is one of several schemes we are working on for the Government Property Agency (GPA). We work as part of the GPA’s supply chain to deliver design and specialist services across the Government Hubs and Whitehall Campus Programmes. These programmes bring government departments together in modern, shared workplaces across the UK.

It is also one of many schemes we have delivered with Wates over more than ten years of refurbishment and fit-out work. Within the Wates Smartspace supply chain, we supported the refurbishment of Watford County and Family Court for HMCTS and the new Video Conferencing Centre at HMP New Hall. We also provided BREEAM services to Wates on the refurbishment of St Paul’s Place in Sheffield. Our wider BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit-Out work includes the award-winning retrofit of Challoner House in Clerkenwell.

Many of our government schemes are confidential, so the projects shown here are only those we can name publicly. You can read more about how we support contractors on BREEAM and compliance work.

What BREEAM rating did Feethams House achieve?

Feethams House achieved BREEAM Excellent under the BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit-Out 2014 scheme. The Government Property Agency has described it as its highest-ever BREEAM rating for a refurbished building. Build Energy acted as BREEAM Assessor and Accredited Professional for Wates Smartspace from pre-assessment through to final certification.

What is the BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit-Out scheme?

BREEAM Refurbishment and Fit-Out (RFO) measures the sustainability of work to existing non-domestic buildings, rather than new builds. A project is only assessed on the parts it changes, whether that is the structure, the building services or the interior. That makes it a good fit for office fit-outs like Feethams House.

Why appoint a BREEAM Accredited Professional on a fit-out project?

A BREEAM Accredited Professional (AP) works with the design team to keep sustainability decisions on track as the design develops. The role earns credits in its own right and helps protect others. On a fast fit-out, getting an AP involved early can be the difference between hitting the target rating and losing credits to late changes.

What does Hea 02 indoor air quality testing involve?

Hea 02 testing happens once the works are complete and before anyone moves in. We take air samples and check formaldehyde and volatile organic compound (VOC) levels against BREEAM limits. It follows on from the indoor air quality plan, which sets out how to keep pollutants down during the works.

Does Build Energy work on other government office schemes?

Yes. Feethams House is one of several schemes we have worked on for the Government Property Agency, helping deliver design and specialist services across its Government Hubs and Whitehall Campus Programmes. We also work on a large number of other government and public sector schemes across the UK, often for tier 1 contractors such as Wates. Many are confidential, so our website only shows the projects we can name publicly.