London, United Kingdom
Ed Williams of Fletcher Priest Architects has succeeded in a sustainable reimagining of a landmark development, the refurbishment of the Warwick Court building in Paternoster Square, owned by Mitsubishi Estate London and redeveloped in partnership with Stanhope.
The Warwick Court project has recently been awarded a 2023 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The entire 200,000-square-foot building has been redesigned to enhance the quality of the space and improve the cultural offer with integrated retail and communal outdoor space, a significant pull for occupiers in light of the growing trend to return to the office.
The building, designed by MacCormac Jamieson and Prichard (MJP) in 2002, no longer met the demands of modern-day office requirements as occupiers look for flexible and high-quality space.
Floor heights have been increased to between 2.8m and 3.35m, giving a generous volume and greatly enhancing the scale and atmosphere of the workspace.
Global investment firm T Rowe Price pre-let 143,000 sq ft of office space last year, with commodities trader Mitsui Bussan taking 25,300 sq ft in September 2022.
A partial infill of the atrium on the lower floors has increased available floor space and improved circulation throughout the offices.
Originally designed for a sole tenant, new flexible floor plates are of a generous scale, ranging from 15,000 sqft to 29,000 sqft, and suited to a wide variety of uses in different.
In light of a move towards cycling in the City of London, the bike and changing facilities have been more than doubled to 200 spaces, meeting current and future demand for active travel.
One of the key interventions is the reconfiguration of the ground floor, redesigning the reception space, and opening up a new retail frontage.
Spacious terraces added on levels six and eight – paired with existing terraces on levels four and five – make the most of the uniquely close view of St Paul’s Cathedral, and further views across the City of London and beyond.
Sensible and sustainable material use has been key to cutting emissions throughout this project.
The architects developed a sustainability strategy based on the principles of a circular economy, using natural, low-carbon materials alongside extensive reuse of the existing structure and finishes, ultimately saving over 20,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
The use of natural, low-carbon materials such as timber and extensive reuse of existing building elements followed the principles of circular economy.
Sixty tonnes of waste wood were diverted from the site and reused through Community Wood Recycling, a social enterprise that collects wood waste and gives workplace opportunities to local unemployed or disadvantaged people.
All other waste was sorted on-site with closed-loop recycling schemes used for waterproofing plastics.
These initiatives enabled the project to reach a waste rate generation of 1.84 tonnes/100m2.
Stone surfaces in the reception have been substantially retained, with new terrazzo recycled flooring and timber ceilings reducing the embodied carbon from new material use.
The existing lifts and lobbies have been refurbished rather than replaced, with new controls added to reduce average waiting times.
Aiming for BREEAM “Excellent,” the building used intelligent LED lighting and air source heat pump technology to cut the operational carbon footprint of the building by up to 45%.
Through these changes, as well as the circular economy principles executed throughout design and delivery, the architects have extended the life of this building whilst using around a third less carbon than an equivalent new build.
Project: Warwick Court
Architects: Fletcher Priest Architects
Lead Architect: Ed Williams
General Contractor: Mace
Client: Withheld
Photographers: Ståle Eriksen
