Bloomberg European HQ wins 2018 Stirling Prize
6 NSC
Nov/Dec 18
ISG has been awarded the contract to build
a landmark steel-framed headquarters
building for high street retailer TK Maxx
opposite Watford Junction station.
The focal point for the development is
a new 15,000m² building that appears as a
series of interlocking glass volumes, which
sits next to two existing buildings that will
be refurbished.
According to project designers
Sheppard Robson, the architectural
identity of the main building is shaped
around its immediate townscape context.
The highest part of the building aligns to
Clarendon Road with volumes stepping
down around the curved frontage opposite
the station to acknowledge the smaller
scale residential buildings on that side of
the development.
As well as creating an engaging
architectural form that reduces the mass of
the building, this stepping of the volumes
also creates the opportunity for several
garden terraces and staff amenity spaces.
Sheppard Robson’s interior design
group have been carrying out extensive
consultation with the client to shape their
future work patterns, driving efficient and
creative use of the internal spaces.
The office space will be arranged
around the perimeter to maximise natural
daylight, with circulation atria positioned
on the inside of the buildings, showcasing
the inner workings of the interior spaces.
News
Having won a Structural Steel Design
Award, Bloomberg’s pioneering new
European headquarters in the City of
London has also collected the 2018 RIBA
Stirling Prize.
The award-winning steel-framed
project is credited as the world’s most
sustainable office and achieved a BREEAM
‘Outstanding’ rating, which is the highest
design-stage score ever achieved by any
major commercial development in the UK.
Six buildings were shortlisted for this
year’s coveted RIBA Stirling Prize for the
UK’s best new building.
The award is judged against a range
of criteria including design vision,
innovation and originality, capacity
to stimulate, engage and delight
occupants and visitors, accessibility
and sustainability, how fit the building
is for its purpose and the level of client
satisfaction.
Sir David Adjaye, who chaired
the Stirling Prize jury, said: “This
groundbreaking project demonstrates
what is possible through close
collaboration between highly skilled,
imaginative architects and a deadly
sophisticated, civic-minded client.
Bloomberg is an astounding commitment
to quality architecture.”
Working on behalf of Sir Robert
McAlpine, William Hare fabricated,
supplied and erected the steelwork.
Contractor named for TK Maxx’s steel-framed HQ
Located just south of Burton-upon-Trent,
developer St. Modwen has completed phase
two of its Burton Gateway distribution
park.
Phase two consists of three distribution
centres, two of which are combined within
one large structure, totalling more than
11,000m² of space.
Main contractor GMI started on-site
in Spring 2018 and ASA Steel Structures
fabricated, supplied and erected the
steelwork.
The site is said to be one of the largest
warehouse developments in the Midlands
and is a key employment site for East
Staffordshire. It is already home to
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics, who last
year took a 10-year lease on a speculatively
developed 8,000m² building on the site.
Rob Richardson, Senior Development
Manager at St. Modwen, said: “This latest
phase of speculative development is a
mark of St. Modwen’s intention to meet
the growing need for high-quality and
well connected space at a number of its
key development sites. St. Modwen is
committed to providing the Midlands with
quality places to work, allowing regional
and national businesses to thrive.”
In order to develop the 280-acre site,
St. Modwen carried out extensive highway
works to support the regeneration of the
area and, in turn, unlock the potential of a
key location for commercial and residential
development, having worked with the local
authority and stakeholders.
St. Modwen has also recently secured
planning consent for the third phase of
construction at Burton Gateway, totalling a
further 9,600m² of distribution space.
Steelwork completes for Burton Gateway phase two
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/Steel-supported_glazed_facades_and_roofs#Atrium_Roofs_and_Sky_lights
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/Structural_steel_design_awards
/BREEAM
/Multi-storey_office_buildings
/Design
/Sustainability
/Bloomberg_London
/Retail_buildings#Distribution_centres
/Retail_buildings#Distribution_centres
/Fabrication
/Construction#Steel_erection