The Crown Estate breaks ground with low-carbon concrete

The Crown Estate is putting lower-carbon construction into practice at 33-35 Piccadilly - bringing Heidelberg Materials’ evoBuild concrete to a UK building for the first time. Here’s the full rundown…

Expected to cut carbon by around 35% compared with standard concrete, evoBuild uses carbon capture technology to reduce its environmental impact without compromising on performance. And this latest work of innovation is just one part of an ambitious sustainability overhaul taking shape at 33-35 Piccadilly.

Set to deliver 30,000 sq ft of best-in-class workspace, the site has been majorly re-envisioned since first securing planning permission in 2018, with The Crown Estate pushing the project’s climate conscious credentials a step further.

From considered material choices and a more efficient structure to reusing resources wherever possible, a series of changes had already cut the building’s projected embodied carbon by more than 20%. Now, the introduction of evoBuild is set to bolster this initiative, helping bring the project’s carbon target down by more than a third compared with its original plans.

Meanwhile, the firm is also tapping into its own urban and rural portfolio to bring more responsibly sourced materials into the mix. Together, these decisions are pushing 33-35 Piccadilly beyond typical UK carbon benchmarks - and the credentials are stacking up. The development is targeting BREEAM Outstanding, 5* NABERS UK, WiredScore Platinum, EPC A and WELL Platinum, while already ranking among just 14 London properties to achieve SmartScore Platinum.

This latest project is just one piece of The Crown Estate’s growing West End ambitions. The scheme joins its largest-ever London development pipeline, alongside the 138,000 sq ft transformation of New Zealand House and upcoming projects at 10 Piccadilly and 21-29 Glasshouse Street - with the recent acquisition of the Piccadilly Regent Estate further strengthening its hand across Central London.

James Atherton, Development Director at The Crown Estate said: “Across 33-35 Piccadilly and our wider portfolio, we are taking a holistic approach to reducing carbon, including looking at the materials and construction methods we use to deliver high-quality workplace. This is central to our ongoing long-term work to create a more future-ready West End. We are delighted to be working with Heidelberg Materials UK and the wider project team to bring an innovative lower-carbon concrete solution to the UK for the first time.”

Phillip Rice, Concrete Key Account Manager at Heidelberg Materials UK, added: “The project at 33-35 Piccadilly is set to be an exemplar in sustainable redevelopment. Through collaboration with The Crown Estate, Keir and Realtime Civil Engineering we were able to offer an innovative concrete solution that met the rigorous demands of the project while minimising its carbon impact.”

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