Unity Place Zurich Building
Hurrah! At LAST I’ve made it to No 50 in this Swindon in 50 More Buildings blog series. I began it back in the before times, in 2019, with this piece about the County Ground Hotel. But then the pandemic got in the way. And then a joint authorship of a book about West Swindon interfered. Anyway – at last I’m here. I have every intention of turning these fifty blog posts into a physical book. With hopes that it doesn’t take me a further five years!
Now, I cogitated a great deal about what building should fill the No 50 spot. I settled on this one because it brings about a bit of circularity – and I love that. In Swindon in 50 Buildings I included the Allied Dunbar Tri-Centre – and that morphed into Zurich. So it links to an entry in the original book. Even its name, Unity Place, works on that level.
And, besides that, it’s an important inclusion as it’s the first new commercial/business building erected in Swindon in …. well … decades? So for that alone it serves as an appropriate full-stop to this series.
A confession to make
Having had an excellent tour of the building I’m well impressed. Its interior has the WOW factor in spades – and more of that in a bit. But for me personally, that’s not true of its exterior. I’m not struck on the black at all. And – a box – couldn’t the architects have come up with something more striking than that?
Now I’m willing to concede that there may be valid reasons why the basic shape of this building is as it is. Yet a small part of me feels that just maybe an opportunity has been missed here to give Swindon something spectacular. That said, on the inside I’d argue they have – and that’s great for their employees. Indeed it’s been designed to enhance the well-being of the staff. As is clear to see. And that is of course amazing.
But for the rest of us – what we’re looking at is a big, black, oppressive box … But I know lots of folk that DO like it so each to their own hey? I mean, it mystifies me that some people don’t like the David Murray John tower – whereas I think it’s wonderful – so horses for courses etc.
Anyway! Having got that off my chest let’s move on to some actual facts about Unity Place.
An award winning building
Designed by MATT Architecture and built by Skanska, the building had its official opening in April 2023 – though it was occupied from October 2022.
Unity Place gained a BREEAM excellent accreditation. That’s both for the project design stage and the completed building. The award covers a range of categories from the materials used to health and wellbeing. Indeed the sustainability credentials of the building are quite something. It’s designed to rank among the top 10% of commercial buildings, in terms of sustainability, in the UK. With EV charging points, a bicycle storage and repair centre and energy efficient LED lighting it’s achingly cool in the sustainable stakes. There’s even beehives and Swift nesting boxes on the roof.
Further, there’s furniture made from recovered ocean plastics, a multi-faith room and a nursing room. So every need appears to have been considered. Well except perhaps parking … An employee, who shall remain nameless, told me she loves working there. And even loves the sustainability credentials. But that it’s not so hot for parking. Obvs parking and driving is at odds with the eco credentials of this building. But it’s an uncomfortable fact of life that cycling and public transport don’t work for the majority of people. Indeed, as a non-driving, public transport user I can testify to how much it doesn’t work!
Keeping with the sustainability/recycling theme, the three sculptures in front of the building incorporate a range of recycled materials from rubble to TVs.
A commitment to Swindon
Okay – the main thrust of these posts is about the buildings themselves. But for the purposes of this blog post, if not the eventual book, I think it’s important to say a little about Zurich and their commitment to Swindon.
As we know, Zurich has a long history in Swindon. And they publicly state that they remain committed to the town – and to the county – as one of its largest employers. Their commitment includes their long-standing charity arm, the Zurich Community Trust. It works with many local charities and community groups – all chosen by local employees.
In the words of Tim Bailey, CEO Zurich UK and a Swindonian to boot:
‘Having grown up in Swindon, it’s great to be able to give something back to the community I had such a great start in. It’s crucial we can give local people the chance to build a career in their hometown. This includes investing in a building that will enhance the lives of employees and the wider community.
Zurich is pleased to support Swindon Borough Council and the Government’s continued investment in the town, to encourage local economic growth. We look forward to strengthening our strong links with local schools, businesses, and our charity partners through the work of ZCT.’
A few facts to finish
- Zurich funded the building with a ‘Sale and Lease Back’ agreement with Swindon Borough Council (SBC). SBC owns the building now it’s complete and they let it to Zurich. The business occupies 80 per cent of the building. The unoccupied area will be available for future expansion or for future sublet opportunities. The building’s design caters for this type of flexibility. Thus allowing Zurich to retain their own Zurich entrance, reception, atrium and lifts. Any third-party organisations would remain separate, having their own entrance and lifts.
- Their lease for the building is for twenty years. But there are early exit opportunities for some of the space (the third of the building at the rear east side – ground floor to fifth floor).
- Who will pick up the bill for any empty space? Zurich have accounted for paying for occupying the whole building. Thus there’s no additional cost for empty space. Should Zurich decided to dispose of any surplus space in the future this could offer a saving.
Yes, one could argue that they’re benefitting from the building split as they have the opportunity to sublet the space. But, this could go some way to offset the costs they’re paying to split the building now. And that’s something that they might not have had to do.
