Eight Versa acted as the Sustainability Consultant for Tommy Hilfiger to secure a LEED Gold certification for the new flagship store on the world-famous Regent Street in London. Motivated by the Sustainable Stores Programme, PVH who owns the Tommy Hilfiger brand, voiced a strong aspiration early on in the design process to make the new store truly sustainable. A number of bespoke options to achieve a sustainably design and operated store were explored however, it was decided that the USGBC’s LEED (Leadership in Environmental and Efficient Design) methodology would deliver, not only a green building -certification but also provide a robust framework to ensure sustainability in areas that are often overlooked by the retail sector.
The store achieved a plethora of notable sustainability wins throughout the fit-out’s design and construction process.
From a materials perspective, all timber and products with wooden constituents were FSC certified. Careful attention was paid to the responsible sourcing and life cycle assessment of materials. 21 products ranging from timber flooring to door handles held an EPD (Environmental Product Declaration) to demonstrates the brand’s commitment to material transparency.
With the increasing attention being given to air quality in the capital, indoor air quality was high up the agenda for PVH, high efficiency filtration was installed on the ventilation system, 100% of the paints used had zero or low-VOC credentials, and all composite wood products containing no added urea formaldehyde. During construction, the Contractor adopted a strict indoor air quality plan with careful sealing of dusty areas, provision of clean storage solutions for materials and wrapping of new HVAC ducts in plastic wrap.
This store was an excellent case study of what can be achieved by effective design team and contractor collaboration. The store achieved a total of 63 points and secured a LEED Gold certification.
