Net zero building to complete tech campus

DEVELOPMENT: An aerial view showing how the new net zero building, front centre, will complete the @theDock complex

By Rick Lyon

Hull’s @TheDock tech campus will be completed with a net zero office building, bringing an additional 150 digital jobs to the city’s Fruit Market.

Wykeland Group has announced it will develop the final building within the tech complex, to offer a further 11,000 sq ft of office space at the waterfront location.

The final @TheDock building will be net zero, with renewable energy generated via an array of roof mounted solar panels. A green roof formed by flowering plants and a green wall section will also support biodiversity, while adding to the building’s insulation.

The offices will have an EPC energy rating of A – the highest possible to achieve. The building is all electric and will be mechanically heated, cooled and ventilated by a system that uses air source heat pumps and takes heat energy from extracted air and uses it to pre-heat incoming air.

Electric vehicle charging points will be provided in the ground floor car park. Energy efficient sensor lighting will also be installed and the building has been designed to ensure it has very high levels of both thermal insulation and airtightness. This ensures the offices can be run more sustainably.

Construction is due to begin next month having been delayed by a few weeks to make sure this did not disrupt this year’s Humber Street Sesh and Freedom Festival, which both take place in the Fruit Market area.

The building is being developed speculatively and is scheduled to be completed in summer 2023. It will mark another major milestone in the transformation of the Fruit Market.

@TheDock has created a cluster of advanced expertise, becoming home to scores of tech businesses and hundreds of digital specialists.

The development was spearheaded in 2015 by the opening of the Centre for Digital Innovation (C4DI) tech hub and Nibble café. Since then, two additional buildings have opened on site, both of which are fully occupied.

The @TheDock community includes the likes of global giant Saab Technologies, which has its UK Public Safety and Security division within the tech campus; payment technology provider Dojo; and digital marketing agency Summit Media. It also includes many fast-growing digital ventures such as smart tech specialist Sauce.

‘VOTE OF CONFIDENCE’: A computer-generated image of the final building, shown in the centre

John Gouldthorp, Asset Manager at Wykeland, said: “@TheDock has become a thriving digital community, bringing together many leading tech businesses and innovative start-up and scale-up ventures.

“This latest investment in the final phase of the development is a further vote of confidence in @TheDock as a destination of choice for digital businesses. It will also mark another key moment in the regeneration of the Fruit Market.

“In recent years @TheDock has been transformed from derelict brownfield site into a prime location for digital innovation and excellence. This new building will complete that journey.”

The first and second floors of the new building will each offer 5,500 sq ft of office space. The building could be let to either a single business, or multiple tenants, with suites from 2,250 sq ft to the full 11,000 sq ft.

The ground floor will have 17 undercroft parking spaces, with electric vehicle charging points and a cycle storage area.

The building will complete a quadrangle of prime office space at the @TheDock development, with the popular Nibble breakfast, brunch and lunch venue at its heart.

The entrance to the office will be from the central paved plaza. The main vehicular entrance of the new building will be located on Humber Street, opposite safety specialist Arco’s new flagship head office and the adjacent Fruit Market car park.

Letting of the building will be handled by commercial property agency PPH Commercial.

Ben Cooper, Divisional Director at PPH, said: “We are excited to market opportunities at the final building within the @TheDock development.

“We expect demand for space to be very strong, due to the quality of the Grade A offices, the building’s sustainability credentials and the exceptional work Wykeland has done to make @TheDock a flagship destination for tech businesses.”

The latest building is supported by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), using previously allocated funding for @TheDock.