New Street Square may be a sustainability exemplar for Land Securities, but it still wanted the building delivered speedily - in just 100 weeks. This inevitably led to some compromises when it came to selecting materials. On the positive side, Bennetts Associates cajoled Land Securities away from a steel frame, which is the default fast-track office construction method. Instead, the building has a concrete frame with post-tensioned floor slabs. This was important, as the concrete added thermal mass to the building. "We weren't keen on post-tensioned slabs, but Rab Bennetts convinced us it would give us more flexible space and make minimal use of materials," says Gerry Manning, Land Securities' project manager at the time.
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