The Green Office, Thorpe Park, Leeds

Architect: Rio Architects Limited
Contractor: GMI Construction
Installer: Coverstructure
Type of works: supply of 180 fixed VITRAL Inspiration stainless-steel roof-glazing panels. 60m in length the glazing spans 5m, both horizontally and vertically. The three-tier mono-pitch framed roof has a 15º pitch on its top tier and a 50º pitch on the middle and bottom tiers.

The award winning Green Office is the highest BREEAM rated building to date, when in 2007 it was awarded the BRE Award for offices, achieving a score of 87.55%. The VITRAL roof glazing system contributed substantially to this. The high performance system, which achieves a U-value of around 1.5W/m²K, also incorporates a special toughened solar-control glass (6mm Cool-Lite SKN 165), which lets in maximum daylight, whilst controlling the heat energy emitted by the sun.

Richard Roberts, Director of Rio Architects said: “The clean lines of the VITRAL system complemented the contemporary feel of the building, allowing maximum daylight penetration deep into the office spaces. This, combined with the system's low U-value and effective solar-control glass, added greatly to the building’s efficiency and the quality of its internal environment.”