Client: Peveril Securities Ltd

Unity Square is a ten-storey office building providing Grade A workspaces in Nottingham’s regeneration zone, ensuring high-quality office accommodation with a focus on sustainability and long-term performance. The structure integrates modern design principles, incorporating flexible workspaces and efficient mechanical and electrical systems to reduce operational costs.

The development plays a critical role in Nottingham’s south-side regeneration, offering modern facilities for HMRC's new regional hub. Its city centre location posed several design challenges, particularly related to its proximity to the Midland Mainline railway, surrounding watercourses, and a complex network of underground utilities.

Services we provided

Ground Investigation & Land Quality
Civil & Infrastructure Engineering
Digital Engineering & BIM
Environmental & Sustainability Consulting
Geotechnical & Ground Engineering
Transport Planning & Traffic Engineering
Water Engineering & Flood Risk

Our Role

BWB was appointed as the lead engineering consultant for the HMRC Unity Square development, providing a broad range of civil and structural engineering services that ensured the project’s successful delivery.

Ground expertise

Our initial involvement included extensive ground investigations to determine the site’s suitability for development and to inform the foundation design. Given the site's proximity to a watercourse, we conducted a detailed flood risk assessment and implemented measures to safeguard the building against potential flooding. Our drainage strategy incorporated Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems (SuDS) to manage surface water effectively and mitigate flood risks, contributing to the development’s sustainability credentials.

Precise designs

Our civil engineering team also designed a new contiguous piled retaining wall along Sheriffs Way, adjacent to an existing access bridge. This was a complex undertaking, as it required precise calculations to avoid undermining the structural integrity of nearby infrastructure.

Transport planning

In addition, our transport planning team developed a comprehensive travel plan that addressed the project’s impact on the local road network and identified sustainable transport options for future occupants. The plan provided the basis for Section 106 negotiations and informed the design of the access junction, which was engineered to accommodate future development needs, including the potential retrofitting of transport links.