The Vertua Classic concrete, which offers a 30 – 50% CO2 reduction versus a standard mix, has been used for the foundations of the three-storey building, which will be known as The Place and house sustainable property developer Citu's UK head office plus a new 15,000 square foot office rental opportunity.
This building forms an integral part of the district's latest construction phase, which is at the heart of Leeds' South Bank Regeneration scheme. This innovative project will accelerate the transition for Leeds to become a zero-carbon city and act as a transformative driver for sustainable development in the Yorkshire region.
The Climate Innovation District been designed around recognised key principles for creating truly sustainable places to live, focusing on promoting positive behaviours linked to transport, energy, housing and ecosystems.
CEMEX provided over 70m3 of Vertua Classic concrete from its Leeds Readymix plant, the first time this site has provided this product since its launch. Vertua Classic is easy to use and place, making it perfect for various applications such as structural elements, foundations including piling, light to heavy industry floors and suspended slabs. Vertua is part of CEMEX's ambition to deliver net-zero CO2 concrete globally to all of our customers by 2050.
Tracey Carden, Readymix technical manager at CEMEX UK, said: "We are very proud to have supplied our Vertua Classic concrete to the latest phase of work at Citu's Climate Innovation District in Leeds, particularly as this will be their head office. This is a development that priorities sustainable construction, making our low carbon concrete the obvious choice for the office building foundations."
Jonathan Wilson, development director at Citu, added: "The Place is holistically designed to create a zero-carbon workplace, as one part of a wider sustainable district. To achieve this, we've worked to reduce embodied carbon emissions at every stage – from building using structural timber to using Vertua Classic low carbon concrete. The low carbon concrete mix allows us to achieve a large reduction in CO2 emissions from one of the materials that previously has been among the most difficult to decarbonise.
"We believe progressive businesses value design-led, low carbon workplaces set within a walkable environment to improve wellbeing. Vertua Classic helps us deliver this sustainable workplace which will soon be home to both Citu and a forward-thinking business wishing to take advantage of this one-off opportunity."
CEMEX R&D, Innovation and Business Development projects are part of the global R&D collaboration network, headed by CEMEX Research Centers, based in Switzerland.
