We’re redeveloping a 2.4-acre site in Blackpool into a state-of-the-art workplace for more than 3,000 employees from the Department for Work and Pensions. Part of a new business and civic quarter in Blackpool’s town centre, this 7-storey purpose-built hub will help streamline the Civil Service’s administrative functions, drive footfall in the area and support the city’s overall economic growth.
Our architecture draws on the city’s rich Art Deco heritage, with a curve to the main entrance and orange ceramic tiles that reference the beautiful base of Blackpool Tower. At the building’s base is a Health Assessment Centre to serve the community. New cycle and pedestrian routes will ensure the building is accessible from nearby landmarks, as well as Blackpool’s main railway station and new tram interchange, and reinstate King Street as a main city desire line. Along with walkways and cycle stands, the new public realm includes hard and soft landscaping, with special ‘rain gardens’ designed to manage surface run-off.
We’ve designed the building to BREEAM ‘Excellent’ standards, with a focus on energy efficiency. Early-stage whole life and upfront embodied carbon assessments have reduced the project’s upfront embodied carbon intensity, while high levels of insulation, demand-driven ventilation, and low-carbon heating and cooling will help shrink its overall carbon footprint. We took a fabric-first facade approach, working with specialists to optimise buildability and deliver high U-value and air infiltration performance.
A purpose-built hub in Blackpool for the UK Civil Service
