SSDA Awards
COMMENDATION – Lucent, London
Sat behind the Piccadilly Lights, a steel-framed mixed-use scheme is a prime example of innovative design and structural ingenuity.
FACT FILE
Architect: Fletcher Priest Architects
Structural engineer: Waterman Group
Steelwork contractor: Severfield
Main contractor: Wates Group
Client: Landsec
Photo: © CentralPhotography.London
Located in one of London’s most famous spots, a large-scale transformation has been completed on a site previously occupied by 13 disparate buildings.
Designed by Fletcher Priest Architects, the eight-storey steel-framed development, known as Lucent, consists of Grade A office space, retail units, and seven apartments. Topping the scheme, a rooftop restaurant opens up stunning views of the capital.
Two large retained elements are also incorporated into Lucent. One is the structure supporting the Piccadilly Lights digital screen and other is a two-storey store incorporating a Boots unit.
The shop is a large concrete-framed element, fronting Piccadilly Circus. The new scheme’s lower levels form a horseshoe shape around the Boots unit, while above third floor, the development spans over it.
“We selected steelwork for its structural versatility. Part of the challenge on this site was that we had to keep the Piccadilly Lights and stores beneath them completely operational during the works. This was no easy feat, as we dismantled everything else and excavated a three-storey basement in possibly one of the busiest areas in the country,” says Fletcher Priest Architects Associate Partner Joe Sweeney.
Including Boots, the layout for Lucent consists of retail elements at basement, ground and first floor, and office spaces generally starting at second floor and extending up to seventh.
The two retained structures presented two considerable challenges for the design and construction team, as Severfield Project Associate Director Nick Scott explains: “We had to carefully erect steelwork over the existing Boots store and thread steel beams around the Lights, without damaging them or requiring them to be shut down.”
The structure supporting the digital screen was temporarily propped during the demolition and construction works. Once Lucent was completed, the props were removed and the screen now gains its lateral stability from being connected to the new steel-framed structure.
While the screen structure relies on the new build for its stability, the retained Boots structure supplies some support to the new elements of the project.
The design team had access to the original design drawings, which revealed there was some spare capacity in the concrete structure.
“The areas of the third and fourth floor office levels, which span over Boots, are founded on the retained building,” explains Waterman Structures Director Andrew Sherlock.
“However, in order to not overload the retained store structure, our solution for the remaining upper levels was to suspend them via UC sections, acting as hangars, from a large roof level truss.”
The truss is 36m-long x 3.5m-deep, positioned at seventh floor and integrated between the rooftop restaurant and a plant deck.
The workspace has been designed to the highest standards and can be considered one of the healthiest in the country, with a target rating of WELL Core Gold. Committed to sustainability, the building is also targeting a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating.
In summary, the judges say Lucent stands as a striking example of innovative design, comprising a complex restructuring of space for commercial and retail use, and seven new residential units, within an almost complete city block of several period buildings. This was all achieved while maintaining the operation of the iconic Piccadilly Lights.