Heelis, National Trust Central Office
Heelis is the new Central Office for the National Trust in Swindon and an exemplar in sustainable office design. It is a deep-plan naturally ventilated building with exposed thermal mass both floor levels to maintain stable internal temperatures; air is introduced around the perimeter and via two internal courtyards.
Daylight is maximised via north-facing roof lights and voids in the first floor to ground level. There is careful control of direct sunlight; using the photovoltaic panels for shading in the middle of the day and the roof ventilation cowls in the morning and evening. Finishing materials such as timber and carpets were sourced from National Trust property.
Ventilation and daylight strategies in section
View of the main south-facing elevation
Acoustic panels hang in the well lit atrium.
Initial concept sketch for introducing daylight
The array of photovoltaic panels and ventilation cowls.
The building in its historic setting.
High levels of daylight provide exemplary working conditions
Heelis is one project in our continuing story of nearly 50 years of delivering sustainable workspace buildings.
For more images of Heelis visit Max Fordham on Flickr.