Amazon
Principal Place 1
System Type:
Location:
Building Use:
BREEAM Rating:
Combined Grey Water Recycling, Rainwater Harvesting & Attenuation
London, UK
Offices
Excellent
Project Overview
Amazon’s UK Headquarters at Principal Place, London, is a landmark commercial development located adjacent to Shoreditch and Bishopsgate within the City fringe. The mixed-use development, designed by Foster + Partners, comprises a major office campus alongside retail, public realm and residential elements, forming one of central London’s most significant commercial regeneration projects.
The office development provides approximately 56,000m² of Grade A commercial office accommodation and serves as Amazon’s UK corporate headquarters, housing several thousand employees across multiple floors of collaborative workspace, meeting facilities, staff amenities and operational support areas.
Designed to achieve high environmental performance standards, the development incorporates a range of sustainability-focused building services systems intended to reduce operational energy and water consumption throughout the building lifecycle.
Grey Water Recycling Scope
As part of the building’s sustainability infrastructure, a dedicated grey water recycling system was installed to support reduced potable water demand through the treatment and reuse of grey water for non-potable applications across the development.
The system utilises advanced membrane treatment technology to provide high-quality treated water suitable for reuse within a high-occupancy commercial office environment.
Installed System
- Grey Water Recycling Plant
- Treatment Capacity: 20m³/day
- Treatment Technology: Hollow Fibre Membrane Bioreactor (MBR)
- Reuse Application: Non-potable water reuse
Engineering Solution
The installed grey water treatment plant was engineered to provide a compact and operationally resilient solution capable of managing fluctuating occupancy demands associated with a large-scale commercial headquarters building.
The system incorporates dedicated pre-treatment infrastructure upstream of the membrane bioreactor process, designed to condition incoming grey water prior to secondary biological treatment and membrane filtration.
Following operational review and system performance analysis, Indratec has undertaken modification works to the aeration arrangement within the pre-treatment tanks in order to improve upstream water conditioning and enhance overall pre-treatment water clarity prior to membrane treatment.
The revised aeration strategy has been developed to:
- Improve solids suspension and mixing efficiency
- Reduce settlement within pre-treatment zones
- Enhance biological conditioning performance
- Improve influent water quality entering membrane treatment stages
- Support long-term operational stability and membrane performance
The system continues to utilise hollow fibre membrane bioreactor technology to deliver high-quality treated water suitable for reuse applications within the building.
Ongoing Sustainability Development
In addition to ongoing optimisation of the grey water recycling system, Indratec is currently working alongside Amazon to investigate the introduction of rainwater harvesting infrastructure within the building.
The proposed rainwater harvesting integration forms part of a wider sustainability initiative aimed at further reducing mains water consumption and enhancing the building’s overall environmental performance.
Current feasibility and development works include:
- Assessment of available rainwater collection areas
- Evaluation of storage and attenuation capacity
- Integration with existing non-potable water infrastructure
- Hydraulic and treatment coordination studies
- Opportunities for combined grey water and rainwater reuse strategies
The proposed future integration is intended to further strengthen the building’s water reuse capability whilst supporting Amazon’s wider sustainability objectives.
Project Engineering Challenges
The project required careful integration within a complex commercial office environment with significant building services coordination requirements and operational continuity expectations.
Key engineering considerations included:
- Integration within existing live building infrastructure
- Enhancement works to operational treatment systems
- Optimisation of pre-treatment water quality
- Coordination within constrained plant spaces
- Minimisation of operational disruption during modification works
- Long-term membrane protection and operational resilience
- Futureproofing infrastructure for potential rainwater harvesting integration
- Compliance with sustainability and water reuse objectives
Particular attention was given to maintaining system performance whilst implementing improvements to operational treatment stages within an occupied commercial building environment.
Technical Summary
Project – Amazon Headquarters ,Principal Place
Location – London
Building Use – Commercial Headquarters Offices
Approximate Building Size ~56,000m²
Grey Water System Capacity – 20m³/day
Treatment Technology – Hollow Fibre Membrane Bioreactor
System Type – Grey Water Recycling
Outcome
The completed grey water recycling installation provides a robust and efficient water reuse solution supporting the sustainability objectives of one of London’s largest commercial headquarters developments.
Through ongoing collaboration with Amazon, Indratec continues to optimise system performance through targeted treatment process enhancements and future sustainability initiatives, including the potential integration of rainwater harvesting infrastructure to further reduce potable water demand and enhance long-term environmental performance.
