A growing trend in the UK city
centre construction sector has
been the increasing number of
projects that involve refurbishing
and enlarging existing office blocks as an
alternative to demolishing the building and
starting again with a blank canvas.
An example of this trend is 1 Triton
Square, which was originally built for the
First National Bank of Chicago and opened
in 1997. This concrete-framed office building
was the first structure to be completed at
Regent’s Place, a 13-acre fully managed
mixed-use campus on the north side of
London’s Euston Road.
Now more than 20 years later, British
Land has decided the time has come to
update and refurbish the office building to
meet the evolving needs of their customers
and provide a modern, flexible office space,
some affordable workspaces, new retail units
and a new gym.
A number of criteria come into play
when deciding to refurbish a building or
not. These include whether the building is
of any historic interest; if the surrounding
neighbourhood is logistically suitable for
a large-scale construction programme;
the environmental impact of a demolition
package as opposed to a refurbishment and,
possibly the most important issue for many
developers – the cost.
All of the above criteria were mulled over
by the client and design team, but for the
1 Triton Square scheme, Lendlease Project
Director Chris Carragher says the decision to
refurbish the building instead of demolishing
it was all about creating the most sustainable
construction solution possible and is
testament to British Land’s sustainable
values.
“Refurbishing a project is a more
environmentally-friendly option, as well as
being cost-effective.”
According to Arup Structural Lead
Andrew Robertson there have been
significant carbon savings for this
refurbishment compared with a new build
equivalent.
“About 35,000t of concrete and 1,900t
of steel have been re-used and saved from
demolition. The re-use of the structure and
façade elements have resulted in carbon
savings equivalent to a gas and electricity
Mixed-use
Commercial
scheme reinvented
Steel construction has come to the fore as a concrete-framed
central London commercial block gets redeveloped with
additional floor space.
FACT FILE
1 Triton Square, London
Main client:
British Land
Architect:
Arup Associates
Main contractor:
Lendlease
Structural engineer:
Arup
Steelwork contractor:
William Hare
Steel tonnage: 2,142t
18 NSC
June 19
Visualisation of the
completed scheme
A steel solution for
the project's new
floorplates was the
most environmentallyfriendly
option
/Construction
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Multi-storey_office_buildings#Flexibility_and_adaptability
/Life_cycle_assessment_and_embodied_carbon
/Design
/Recycling_and_reuse#Reuse
/Life_cycle_assessment_and_embodied_carbon#What_is_embodied_carbon.3F