Press Release

HRH THE PRINCE OF WALES OPENS THE CROWN ESTATE’S NEW HEADQUARTERS

9 June 2006

The Crown Estate is delighted to announce that today HRH The Prince of Wales has officially opened its new headquarters at 16 New Burlington Place, London.

Renowned as London’s premier shopping destination, Regent Street is also now fast becoming a favoured office location. As a sign of our commitment to the revitalisation and development of the street we have moved our headquarters from Carlton House Terrace to this new building in the heart of the Regent Street estate.

New Burlington Place links Regent Street and Savile Row, and the office, constructed behind the retained Grade II-listed façade of 185-191 Regent Street, is part of a striking mixed-use development, offering approximately 42,000 sq. ft of office space, 15,000 sq. ft of retail and a 4,000 sq. ft restaurant. The Crown Estate occupies two thirds of the office space, and much of the retail area is already let to international fashion retailer Gerry Weber. The restaurant is under offer.

The new building has been designed with a commitment to energy efficiency and environmental sustainability, and is BREEAM certificated to an excellent level, with an environmental performance index of 10. Many of the key materials used came from The Crown Estate’s own property interests, including Portland stone. Some of the key environmentally friendly features are:

• Passive infra-red sensors automatically detect movement on a floor and switch the lights on. If no movement is detected after a few minutes it will also turn them off. The lighting is by low wattage fluorescent bulbs.
• The windows are all double glazed and mostly non opening. They are recessed into the wall to shade them from the sun; this also makes the building easier to cool.
• The building’s structure is concrete, not the usual steel. This together with the stone gives the building good thermal mass which ensures it passively stores heat and releases it during the day.
• 16 New Burlington Place has photovoltaic cells which produce 15,000kw of electricity per year, that it equivalent to five domestic kettles running continuously for a year.
• Rainwater is collected from containers on the roof and used for the lavatories. Electronic switches on the taps ensure that no water is wasted. Electronic valves detect leaks and shut down the flow where appropriate.
• A typical building of this type and size would cause approximately 237 tonnes of CO₂ to be released into the atmosphere. 16 New Burlington Place has been designed so that it should emit no more than 148 tonnes.

The construction of the building has revitalised the previously under utilised New Burlington Place. Now public art has been installed and trees have been planted. New Burlington Place has been newly pedestrianised, an element of the project that was specially commissioned as part of the hard landscaping of the exterior.

Ian Grant, Chairman of The Crown Estate said of the occasion: “We are delighted to welcome HRH The Prince of Wales to our new headquarters. This move to the wonderful, contemporary offices in the heart of our Regent Street estate is the result of much hard work by the staff here and it is an honour that His Royal Highness is here to officially open the building.”