22 NSC
July/Aug 19
’A ll the world’s a stage’ wrote
William Shakespeare and
whether one agrees with this or
not, one area of Shoreditch is
now very much a stage.
Located in an area that is not
immediately associated with dramatics –
being a few miles east of the capital’s main
theatre-land in the West End – The Stage
development in Shoreditch is named in
honour and shares a site with the remains
of the Curtain Theatre (see box).
During its heyday, the Curtain is
said to have been the venue where
Shakespeare’s Henry V debuted, and as a
nod to the playwright, one of the scheme’s
commercial blocks (Building 3) has been
named The Bard.
This is one of two office blocks within
The Stage development, the other being a
smaller concrete-framed structure named
The Hewett.
Situated between these two buildings
is the main archaeological plot where a
museum is going to be built to display
artefacts found on the site. The Stage’s
other structures include a 37-storey
residential block, restaurants and an art
gallery housed within a former railway
viaduct.
The Bard is a 12-storey steel-framed
block, which will provide 12,700m2 of
contemporary offices along with large
west-facing terraces.
Working on behalf of main contractor
CJ O’Shea, SDM Fabrication is fabricating
and erecting just over 1,200t of structural
steelwork for the project.
“Logistics is the biggest challenge on the
A steel-framed commercial building forms
one of the main elements of £750M mixed-use
development in Shoreditch that also includes
the remains of a Shakespearian playhouse.
Martin Cooper reports.
Commercial
The steel-framed
office takes shape
around its centrallypositioned
core
Steel takes
to the stage
FACT FILE
The Stage, Shoreditch,
London
Main client:
The Stage Shoreditch
Development
Architect:
Perkins + Will
Main contractor:
CJ O’Shea and Company
Structural engineer:
Walsh Associates
Steelwork contractor:
SDM Fabrication
Steel tonnage: 1,267t
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Residential_and_mixed-use_buildings
/Braced_frames
/Fabrication
/Construction#Steel_erection