We are thrilled to have won two awards at the 2022 Institution of Structural Engineers Midland Counties Annual Dinner and Awards Ceremony. The Joules Head Office won the Commercial or Retail Structures Award and “Circular Twin” won the Sustainability Award.


Cundall was commissioned by designer lifestyle brand Joules to provide the civil and structural engineering design for the partial demolition, refurbishment, and significant extension of their existing head office, to establish a world-class headquarters in its Leicestershire hometown. The architect’s vision of achieving a barn aesthetic for the new extension and creating a double-height atrium space presented an opportunity for innovative structural engineering solutions throughout the development. Instead of demolishing the entire existing structure, the north wing which constituted more than half of the existing building footprint, was retained, and refurbished. Repurposing rather than demolishing the north wing led to significant embodied carbon savings associated with demolition, building material waste management and new material acquisition.


Circular Twin is an innovative research and development collaboration that proves how the early alliance of designers, clients, contractors, and the supply chain led to significant reductions in Whole Life Carbon for minimal capital cost uplift. The research showed how early engagement and planning can allow simple changes to be made to create long-term carbon savings, typically a 70% reduction in whole life carbon, a 70% reduction in up front embodied carbon, a 50% reduction in annual energy consumption and up to 40% reduction in forest consumption.


Tim Stidwill, Partner, commented “we are delighted to have once again been recognised by our peers in the Midlands for our work in the region, in particular, how we can use our knowledge and experience to influence sustainable building design and research. The new Head Office for Joules is an excellent example of marrying the old with the new, extending the life of existing structures whilst providing a fantastic work environment for the client. We have implemented our experience in low embodied carbon design across multiple structural materials on the Circular Twin research project to demonstrate practical, holistic, and sustainable approaches to building design, construction, and procurement.”