Eco building short-listed for excellence award

Heming Services Ltd were responsible for all of the major groundworks for the project at Maudslay Court, a sustainably built and managed Cotswold building, on the 320-acre Farncombe Estate between Cheltenham and Stratford-upon-Avon. Maudslay Court was opened in November 2011 and was short listed for the Best Commercial Building accolade in the West of England LABC Awards.

Featuring a tower built from Cotswold stone, Maudslay Court looks over the panoramic landscape of the Vale of Evesham. It was designed with a host of renewable energy features and a monitoring system to track eco-efficiency. Eight bedrooms are certified allergy-free - a unique provision for any conference centre in Europe.

The Local Authority Building Control (LABC) Awards recognise the very best in building design and construction and Maudslay Court is one of eight venues short-listed in the category. Others in the running include The Roman Baths in Bath, Warminster Civic Centre, Batsford Arboretum near Moreton-in-Marsh and the Holburne Museum of Art in Bath.
Locally-sourced materials
"Maudslay Court is a project which has made best use of local suppliers - from the architect to the builder – and locally-sourced materials," says Farncombe Estates Manager Tim Rose, who managed the £3.5m build.

"Sustainability is very important to our business and we have included a wide range of renewables and other measures. For instance, a groundsource heat pump powers the underfloor heating; there are solar panels, energy-saving lights and a grey-water system.

"To be short-listed in a category as competitive as Best Commercial Building is fantastic."

Project Milestones completed include:

    •    Terracing the ground for the new building which was stepped down the  slope.
    •    Traditional deep concrete foundations, with block and beam floors.
    •    Retaining walls, mixture of gabion baskets, reinforced concrete block walls and deep sheet piled.
    •    Concrete block courtyard, slab pathway, and new concrete asphalt roadway and car park.
    •    Drainage with treatment plant for foul sewers and attenuation tank for storm water.
    •    Trenches and laying pipework for ground source heat recovery scheme

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