Commercial property
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Supporting clients
to achieve their
aspirations is
at the heart of
everything we do
Our approach to commercial office design
is focused on shaping a solution around our
client’s drivers and the project requirements.
The commercial property market faces many
challenges in today’s climate. We understand
that for our clients to remain competitive
and profitable they need to retain and attract
tenants. We routinely design buildings that
are adaptable to future tenant needs and
changing legislative requirements. This
ensures our client’s safely invest in appropriate
and long-term profitable building stock.
Arup strives for excellence on all our projects
by using our constant evolving skill set across
many business genres and countries to develop
project specific solutions to maximise the
potential of any building.
We can bring together multiple professional
disciplines or work with a wider team
to achieve excellence and overcome
even the most complex challenges.
The Shard | ©Arup / Thomas Graham
Commercial property
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World class
office design
Office design that attracts tenants
and maximises rental value
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City of London | ©Hufton+Crow
Commercial Property
We are the innovative force behind many of
the world’s iconic buildings in the commercial
sector. We add value to the projects on which
we work. Taking our client’s ambitions and
turning them into reality often means pushing
the boundaries of traditional design. With
our vast experience in the commercial sector
we have used our technical excellence to do
this and realise some of the most challenging
and successful buildings ever constructed.
We know that minimising the space required for
structure and building services, and designing
the building holistically can release valuable
net lettable area. Combining this with being
creative in our solutions and understanding
the difference between cost and value,
allows us to present options that might not be
considered when viewing them in isolation.
Commercial property
Commercial Property
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World class office design
122 Leadenhall Street
London, UK
CLIENT
British Land and Laing O’Rourke
ARCHITECT
Rogers Stirk Harbour & Partners
SERVICES
Mechanical, electrical, public health, lighting, access/inclusive design, archaeology,
acoustics, security, wind, IT & communications, sustainability, transportation
The fabric of the building demonstrates
state of the art construction. The result
is a unique urban experience for office
workers and the general public alike.
Built as a speculative commercial development,
the Leadenhall Building is no ordinary city
office tower. The fabric of the building
demonstrates state of the art construction and
extraordinary craftsmanship, which has resulted
resulted in a unique urban experience for
office workers and the general public alike.
At 47 floors and 225 metres tall, the building
boasts the highest occupied office space in
the City of London. The building’s iconic
tapering shape maximises floor areas through an
innovative, exposed steel braced ‘megaframe’
structure which has been placed outside the
cladding, removing the need for a central
concrete core. As a result, even the largest floors
have no more than six internal columns and
offer sweeping panoramic views of London.
By removing the core, the ground floor is
opened into a vast seven-storey ‘galleria’ space,
connecting directly to the adjacent streets.
The exposed architectural steelwork details
are very unusual for a building of this scale.
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Arup collaborated closely with the full Design
Team around a shared digital model, which
was fundamental in realising the ambitious
design. Arup developed the steelwork details
prior to tender to ensure the client achieved
a reliable price for the high quality project.
The design maximises the use of pre-fabrication
for improved safety and speed of erection.
Most services were installed in three storey
modules and floor slabs were constructed
from a unique pre-cast system with no wet
concrete. The passenger lift cores, housing
the fastest panoramic lifts in Europe, were
craned into position with floor slabs and
services pre-installed. Bespoke toilet cubicles
were integrated into translucent spaces
within the distinctive yellow steel frames.
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AWARDS
Working - Unbuilt Winner - New London
Awards [2011]
Winner - Tekla UK Model Competition [2011]
Commercial property
©Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners_Cityscape
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World class office design
Al Bahr Towers
Abu Dhabi, UAE
CLIENT
Abu Dhabi Investment Council
ARCHITECT
Aedas
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, public health, geotechnical, façade, fire,
civil, transportation, logistics, IT security, catering, specialist lighting
The innovative design idea was to develop
an external movable shading system, the
‘Mashrabiya’, named after the form of
shading screen used in Islamic architecture.
Set amidst the financial centre of Abu Dhabi, the
Al Bahr Towers have become the latest addition
in the ever changing skyline of Abu Dhabi.
Al Bahr Towers consists of two elegant,
quasi-identical, 160m tall towers with an
underlying two storey basement. A sculpted
100m wide cylindrical roof hovers between the
towers to provide a dramatic entrance to the
buildings, which is primarily for office use but
also contain ancillary space which includes:
catering, plant space, auditoria, prayer rooms
and a gymnasium.
One of the key design drivers was to develop
an efficient and iconic envelope related to
Islamic architecture, whilst presenting a novel
approach to reducing the affects of the local
environment, namely high ambient temperatures
and intense solar radiation. Arup contributed to
the development of the innovative Mashrabiya
- a responsive façade that wraps around
approximately three quarters of the outside of
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the building, which opens and closes to provide
different levels of shading. It is designed to
limit both solar and conducted heat gains to 400
watts per linear meter of façade. It is estimated
that such a screen will reduce solar gain by
more than 50 percent, and reduce the building’s
need for energy-draining air conditioning.
Arup provided full engineering and specialist
services to ensure the building achieved a fully
coordinated design.
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AWARDS
Project of the Year - Society of Façade
Engineering International Award for Façade
Engineering Excellence 2013
Best Overall Building & Best Commercial
Building - Middle East Architect Awards 2013
Innovation Award - Council on Tall Buildings
and Urban Habitat CTBUH Best Tall Building
Award 2012
©Arup
©Christian Richters
Open position
Intermediate position
Closed position
Commercial property
©Arup
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World class office design
The Pinnacle
London, UK
CLIENT
Arab Investments and Brookfield Multiplex
ARCHITECT
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
SERVICES
Structural, geotechnical, transportation, wind, fire, acoustics, security
Arup’s optimal structural design
has minimised the amount of steel
required for the 64 storey building.
The Pinnacle will form the apex of the
Eastern Cluster of iconic buildings in the
heart of the City of London that includes
122 Leadenhall, Heron Tower and Swiss Re.
The sculpted curves of the design will
interact visually with the surrounding
buildings to complete the group and
transform London’s skyline.
The 64 storey building will provide one
million square feet of office space as well
as retail units at ground level. The top
levels will become a viewing gallery where
members of the public can look out from
the highest vantage point in London.
Arup’s design for the primary structural
system uses a stiff perimeter tube with
bracing diagonals that spiral around the
building, gradually reducing in number.
The pattern of the bracing was determined
using a structural optimisation algorithm that
minimised the number of bracing members
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required. This was combined with a system
of integral viscous dampers that will absorb
the energy of motion of the building during
a wind storm. This ground-breaking use
of new structural technology minimised
the steel tonnage required, resulting in a
saving of 4,000 tonnes of steel and £12m.
The original site was severely obstructed
by existing piles. Arup used its extensive
experience of piling in London and from
around the world to devise a solution that
achieved exceptional foundation capacity,
whilst avoiding the multiple underground
obstructions. At 65m, the piles are the
deepest in London, and at 2.4m diameter,
the widest base grouted piles in the world.
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AWARDS
Geotechnical/Geoenvironmental UK
Project over £1m - Winner Ground
Engineering Awards 2010
Commercial property
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©KPF
World class office design
The Shard
London, UK
CLIENT
Sellar Property Group
ARCHITECT
Renzo Piano Building Workshop
SERVICES
Mechanical, electrical, public health, specialist lighting, communications, fire
Arup ensured the design of the
building functioned effectively to
support the complex geometry.
Located above the transport hub of London
Bridge Station, the Shard exemplifies a densely
packed, low-energy, mixed-use development.
The tower hosts 25 floors of commercial office
space and world-class restaurants featuring a
spectacular glass atrium. Residential apartments
and public viewing galleries complete the mix
of uses within the building’s slender form.
The main viewing deck is a triple-height
space that affords uninterrupted 360-degree
views of the capital stretching for 40 miles
in every direction. Above this is a partially
open-air deck that allows visitors to
experience the elements at a high altitude.
Arup’s innovative designs have been crucial
in ensuring the building’s functionality within
its stunning form and complex geometry. The
building’s clear, light, fully-glazed façade
created a number of exciting engineering
challenges as it is entirely constructed of
glazed modules subjecting the building to
high solar gains. The response to this is
an intelligent blind control system which
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tracks the position and intensity of the sun,
deploying the blinds only when required.
The floor-to-floor heights of just 3.65m in the
offices are typical of the spatial efficiencies that
have been achieved, and the closely integrated
building services design meant that most of
the building was modelled in three dimensions,
ensuring ultra‑efficient use of space.
With the wide variety of uses within the
building, the relationship of the spaces
to each other and over 10,000 occupants,
the fire engineering strategy has had to
provide an enormous degree of flexibility.
Arup’s design offered robust escape
routes and evacuation strategies without
compromising the architectural vision
or the targets for net floor area.
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AWARDS
Best Large Project - Engineering News Record
ENR Global Best Projects Awards 2013
Commercial property
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©Arup / Thomas Graham
Offices flexible for
future requirements
Keeping your portfolio one step
ahead in a fast-moving market
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The Crystal, Victoria Docks, London
Commercial Property
The need for traditional workspace is
changing. Advances in technology and lifestyle
are influencing people to communicate,
collaborate and therefore work in new ways.
This shift has created an opportunity for
companies to rearrange and optimise their
offices to fit new work patterns, such as
increased shared areas for flexible use.
We understand the importance of making
a safe investment, knowing in ten years’
time you still need to be maximising rent
and occupancy of your office building. We
use our global expertise and successes to
create flexibility in our solutions, learning
from different office environments and
cultures around the world and appropriately
applying the knowledge to our designs.
Commercial property
Commercial Property
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Offices flexible for future requirements
The Crystal
London, UK
CLIENT
Siemens Plc
ARCHITECT
Pringle Brandon and Wilkinson Eyre
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, public health
Arup provided a highly coordinated
multidisciplinary engineering service
within an accelerated design and
construction programme.
Located in the centre of London’s Green
Enterprise District, the Crystal houses the
world’s largest exhibition on the future of
sustainable cities. It is also home to the offices
of Siemens’ Sustainable Cities Team, an
auditorium, conference facilities and a café.
Siemens’ aspiration was to commission a building
to be as visually stunning as it is sustainable. Arup
worked in close collaboration with the Design
Team to achieve the crystalline form envisaged for
the building, while meeting the low energy targets.
The structural frame accommodates the complex
geometry of the building and minimises the use
of steel, and the concrete uses 60% secondary
aggregates. Careful selection and positioning
of transparent and opaque insulated glass
maximises daylight, limits reliance on artificial
lighting and reduces cooling demand to achieve
good thermal efficiency. The Crystal is the first
building in the world to achieve both BREEAM
Outstanding and LEED Platinum accreditation.
The second floor open plan office space takes full
advantage of the variable roof height and irregular
geometry to provide a striking focal point within
a light and airy modern office. Arup designed a
building management control system capable of
monitoring the building’s low-energy systems,
providing building occupants and operators control
over their building environmental conditions.
Arup’s comprehensive skills and experience
allowed engagement with Siemens
across the full range of their products and
technologies and integrated these into a
coordinated sustainable building design.
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AWARDS
World’s first building to be awarded both LEED
Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding
Best Sustainable Development (Environmental) Special Commendation - LEAF Awards 2013
Innovation Award - National Winner British Council for Offices BCO 2013
London Awards - Design and Innovation – Winner Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors RICS 2013
Commercial property
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Images ©Edmund Summers
Offices flexible for future requirements
White Collar Factory
@ Old Street Yard
London, UK
CLIENT
Derwent London and Brookfield Multiplex
ARCHITECT
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
SERVICES
Building services, façade, ICT, acoustics, lighting
The aim is to provide energy efficient
office environments that support productivity
and well-being, and allow tenants
greater latitude to customise fit-outs and
make changes as needs evolve.
Located on Old Street, at the centre of London’s
‘tech belt’ dubbed Tech City, Old Street Yard
will be the new urban campus for London.
The complex includes a landmark 16-storey
‘White Collar Factory’ office tower and five
surrounding low rise buildings clustered
around a new landscaped square.
Inspired by well-built industrial spaces of the
past, and featuring the latest in modern services
and sustainable design, White Collar Factory
will offer tenants generous floorplates that are
cost effective to operate and more flexible than
traditional speculative office developments.
The design of the building is based upon simple
principles developed by Derwent London
which ensure that the overall need for artificial
heating, lighting and cooling is reduced, while
flexibility and adaptability are supported.
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Arup has been instrumental in evolving
this new concept, which suggests
interventions such as increasing floor
to ceiling height, space per person and
natural ventilation can create a sustainable,
adaptable and comfortable environment.
Arup’s innovative design for White Collar
Factory uses the building’s concrete thermal
mass to deliver passive heating and cooling.
Mechanical ventilation will operate where
natural ventilation would not be sufficient.
The 3.5m floor-to-ceiling height delivers
an airy feel, while exposed services lend an
industrial aesthetic. The design will generate
25% less carbon emissions than a typical new
office building, and give maximum flexibility
for tenants to adapt the space when required.
©AHMM
Commercial property
©AHMM
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©Derwent London
Offices flexible for future requirements
BSkyB Meeting Centre
London, UK
CLIENT
British Sky Broadcasting
ARCHITECT
AL_A
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, public health, sustainability, water, acoustics, lighting, utilities,
transport planning, wind engineering, geotechnics, fire, environmental consulting
Arup supported the client’s vision for
a flexible and multifunctional workspace
that enhances collaboration and cross
fertilisation of ideas amongst its employees.
BSkyB’s Meeting Centre is the second of
six Arup designed buildings in the new West
London campus masterplan. The client’s
vision is for a flexible and multifunctional
workspace that will encourage a culture of
close collaboration and cross-fertilisation of
ideas amongst its employees. Working closely
with AL_A, Arup is providing all engineering
advice for the masterplan and meeting centre.
The design provides a super-flexible large
format office space where the layout and
scale of the office is akin to that of an airport
terminal. The proposals are based upon
research undertaken by the Design Team and
the Client, seeking to understand the benefits of
innovative workspaces in the UK and USA. The
engineering response has been driven by the
internal comfort criteria, high levels of daylight
and acoustic control, all of which will contribute
to creating an effective working environment.
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The simple appearance of the 37m wide, 75m
long shed-like structure belies the complexity
of the building’s interior and systems. Arup’s
integrated approach to daylight, electric lighting,
ventilation, acoustics and structure resulted
in an efficient flexible working space that
facilitates both team working and connectivity.
The photovoltaic array covers more than
75m2 of the ‘Saw Tooth’ roof form. The array
works with the geometry of the inclined roof
angles to maximise the exposure to sunlight.
The peak output of the system equates to
almost 25% of the building’s electrical
maximum demand and will produce enough
electricity to power the lighting in the building
for approximately 10 months of the year.
©Paul Carstairs/Arup
Commercial property
©Arup
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©Paul Carstairs/Arup
Creating new
communities
Investing into developments that
benefit multiple stakeholders
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More London, SE1 | ©Daniel Clements
Commercial Property
Developments that look beyond the immediate
workspace and consider the wider external
environment in terms of amenities and social
environment are becoming the norm. Not
only does a mixed-use development disperse
the risk of investment, it can rejuvenate
a deprived area creating a more desirable
place for new communities to thrive.
The breadth of experience within Arup allows
us to easily bring specialists from across
the built environment together to ensure
every aspect of a mixed-development is as
appropriate and effective as possible. We
offer simple, repetitive yet creative solutions
ensuring good value, minimal capital outlay
in site-wide strategies and a robust design.
Commercial property
Commercial Property
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Creating new communities
Central St Giles
London, UK
CLIENT
Stanhope Plc on behalf of Legal & General and Mitsubishi Estates
ARCHITECT
Renzo Piano, Fletcher Priest and PRP
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, public health, geotechnical, acoustics, fire, logistics
Arup’s multi-disciplinary building design
team helped deliver an exemplar project with
strong sustainability credentials that maximises
the value of a complex city centre site.
This mixed-use redevelopment of a 1960s
office block has transformed Saint Giles, the
historically run-down area of London’s West End.
The brightly coloured ceramic façades of
Central St Giles have made this building an
instant landmark and a catalyst for regeneration
of the local area. The site consists of 38,000m2
of offices over 11 floors and a total of 110
private and affordable apartments in two
14 storey towers, all set around a vibrant
public square surrounded by restaurants
and retail spaces at ground floor level.
Arup was responsible for the high performance
façades which have contributed to the quality,
sustainability and performance of the building.
Central St Giles is a low-energy building with
strong sustainability credentials, achieving
BREEAM Excellent standards, Energy
Performance Certificate B rating and a 35%
improvement on code energy efficiency
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requirements. Along with the extensive green
roofs and rainwater harvesting, Central St Giles
is one of the first mixed-use city centre projects
with a site-wide biomass heating system.
Given the complexity of the project, Arup
used multi-disciplinary 3D modelling to
optimise basement depths and to accommodate
the proposed Crossrail tunnel route which
passes through the site. This enabled greater
optimisation of space and reduced the
potential for future issues which could have
increased cost and time of the project.
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AWARDS
Best Commercial Workplace Award Regional Winner - London and South East British Council for Offices BCO 2011
Best Commercial Workplace Award - National
Winner British Council for Offices BCO 2011
Best of the Best Award British Council for
Offices BCO 2011
Commercial property
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Images ©Hufton+Crow
Creating new communities
Chiswick Park
London, UK
CLIENT
Stanhope Plc and Blackstone
ARCHITECT
Rogers Stirk Harbour and Partners
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, public health, civil, acoustic, façade, BREEAM assessment
Arup’s integration of engineering solutions
with the architect’s vision has resulted in a
high quality and valuable public realm that
contributes to the success of the scheme.
The exemplar 21st Century business park,
located five miles from central London, has
been transformed over the last decade.
Chiswick Park’s ‘Enjoy Work’ philosophy
is tangible in the stunning landscaped
gardens that provide an elegant two-tiered
lake, waterfall, and an event square with 12
buildings that complete the development
of a thriving and happy workplace.
Comprising 186,000m² of floor space,
Chiswick Park is home to over 40 tenants
representing a number of sectors. Chiswick
Park welcomes the public as well as providing
exceptional high quality amenities to its
employees, which is anticipated to reach over
10,000 once all buildings are occupied.
On site facilities include restaurants, cafés,
bars, shops, a health and fitness club and
dedicated cycle and pedestrian routes.
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Arup provided the engineering design of the
buildings and played a substantive role in
the site-wide energy strategy and highway
infrastructure to deliver a coherent master
plan. Through commercial negotiation with
the power network operator, Arup realised
a saving of £1.5m associated with power
infrastructure to support the development. Arup
developed and managed a flexible site-wide
power strategy that accommodated additional
prospective tenant power requirements, which
improved the ability to let commercial space.
As the development nears completion, Arup
has continued to provide technical advice to the
developer, and to assist in marketing lettable
space to prospective tenants who may require
additional power beyond the standard provision.
Commercial property
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Images ©David J Osborn
Creating new communities
Paradise Circus
Birmingham, UK
CLIENT
Argent Estates Ltd
ARCHITECT
Glenn Howells Architects
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, civil, fire, acoustics, wind, CDMC
Arup is developing the masterplan for
this innovative redevelopment that will
bring vitality to the historic city centre and
create a modern cityscape for the future.
Paradise Circus is one of the most important
and historic parts of Birmingham city
centre and is home to the Central Library,
Birmingham Conservatoire, Birmingham
Library Theatre and Paradise Forum.
The mixed-use development will provide
12,000 jobs and will include offices, shops,
leisure and cultural facilities together with civic
amenities and a new four star hotel. The new
streets and squares will essentially create a
first class working environment and will create
safe and welcoming new pedestrian routes to
encourage people to walk around the city centre.
Working with Argent, Arup has provided
engineering and specialist input into
feasibility studies and masterplans
for the ambitious proposals.
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The project involves a major re-modelling of the
site to incorporate car parking provision beneath
a new podium deck, new access arrangements
and significant services diversions and utilities
upgrades. The constrained site is immensely
complex to ‘unlock’, not least due to the A38
dual carriageway tunnels passing beneath
the site. Arup consulted with existing service
providers to agree a phased diversion of utilities.
Arup developed a flood risk assessment
including drainage strategy to support a
multiple-phased construction. The strategy
maintains existing infrastructure requirements
and selects the most appropriate discharge
locations from surrounding sewer networks
to best accommodate development proposals.
This resulted in a surface water drainage
strategy that reduced discharge by 20%.
Commercial property
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Images ©Paradise Circus Limited Partnership
Creating new communities
More London
London, UK
CLIENT
More London Development
ARCHITECT
Foster + Partners
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, public health, civil, geotechnical,
communications, transport planning, environmental wind, fire, security, maritime
Arup delivered technical excellence and
innovation whilst maintaining commercial
and construction viability to ensure the site
was developed to its maximum potential.
The More London development is an award-winning,
mixed-use development situated on the South Bank
of the River Thames, near Tower Bridge. The
development consists of 11 buildings each with
varying functions including the Children’s Unicorn
Theatre, the headquarters of several internationally
renowned legal and accountancy firms and City Hall.
The buildings are dispersed within high-quality,
thoughtfully landscaped public spaces, routes
and vistas. The development also includes
spectacular water features, thought provoking
public sculptures and places to sit and reflect.
Arup was the lead consultant for the development
of the masterplan and complex infrastructure
design of the vacant brownfield site. To address
site constraints and maximise the public realm,
Arup developed an underground, site-wide
infrastructure strategy for the entire development.
The underground system accommodated all
vehicular and utility access to each of the buildings
thus freeing up the land around the buildings for
pedestrians, landscaping and public art installations.
Arup maximised the internal floor space by
designing column-free, long-span floors. The
dynamic performance of the 21.5m span composite
floor was improved by the first ever use of Arup’s
innovative Resotec damping system. Developed
by Arup and Richard Lees Steel Decking, Resotec
minimises the affect of movement-induced vibration
by using a constrained layer damping system.
For City Hall, Arup developed a pioneering
groundwater pumping system which, teamed with
carefully planned natural ventilation, cools the
building using entirely renewable sources. This helped
the building achieve the top BREEAM rating of
‘Excellent’. This ground-breaking system ensured that
the building met the targets later adopted by the Mayor
of London for all major new developments to obtain
10% of their energy needs from renewable sources.
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AWARDS
More London Masterplan: Best Built Project London
Planning Awards 2008
1 More London Place: BCO Regional Award Commercial Workplace 2004
Built-in Quality Awards - Large Commercial 2005
©Aerial MLD
Commercial property
©Arup / Thomas Graham
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©Daniel Clements
Enhancing existing
portfolios
Shaping your portfolio to
meet business ambitions
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Aerial view of Regent Street, part of the Crown Estate portfolio, London W1 | ©The Crown Estate
Commercial Property
The complex set of challenges currently
facing the commercial market is ensuring
that property owners take a fresh approach to
managing their buildings. For decades we have
been working with land owners and tenants
in the commercial sector, reviewing office
space and providing solutions to maximise
existing assets that really make a difference.
Assessing the whole portfolio can inform
decisions that enhance the performance of the
organisation, ensuring your assets compliment
your strategy. We can determine the most
cost-effective method to reduce risk and costs
whilst minimising the impact on your business.
Commercial property
Commercial Property
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Enhancing existing portfolios
80 Charlotte St
London, UK
CLIENT
Derwent London
ARCHITECT
Make Architects
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, façade, fire
80 Charlotte Street will transform the
existing buildings into high quality offices
that will form an exciting new office hub
in the heart of London’s Fitzrovia.
Due for completion in 2017, the redevelopment
of a whole city block in the heart of London’s
Fitzrovia is set to breathe new life into the
area. The project comprises 39,000m2 of
commercial office space and 5,600m2 of
high end residential. A new public realm
park will also be created whilst retail units
will enhance the ground floor frontage.
The scheme includes the retention of two
1960’s concrete framed buildings, connected
to a new build infill frame to create large
open plan office areas with internal atria to
bring light into the centre of the building.
The client’s key objective is to achieve a
2.6m minimum floor to ceiling height and
the challenging floor to floor constraint of
just 3.1m led the team to develop innovative
and highly coordinated solutions.
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Arup developed a bespoke steel and precast
framing system with integral service
distribution routes. This, coupled with the
removal of hollowpots between structure and
a chilled ceiling throughout, enables the floor
sandwich to be achieved in just 450mm.
Arup incorporated a cooling solution within
a plastered soffit depth of just 40mm, which
serves both the existing and new floor plate
and maintains British Council for Offices
standards for temperature control.
The structural design maximises the
re-use of existing foundations with limited
strengthening, enabling the number of
floors to be increased from seven to nine
and adding to the lettable floor area.
Commercial property
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©Make Architects
Enhancing existing portfolios
1-2 Stephen St
London, UK
CLIENT
Derwent London
ARCHITECT
ORMS
SERVICES
Structural, mechanical, electrical, façade, ICT, construction, acoustic, BREEAM, fire, logistic
As 1-2 Stephen Street re-emerges, it is
an excellent example of the power of
refurbishment to renew both a neglected
building and its surrounding area.
Commercial buildings constructed in London
during the 1980s are often dismissed as
unexciting and in many cases have been left
to deteriorate. This is not the case with 1-2
Stephen’s Street, bounded by Tottenham Court
Road to the east and Oxford Street to the south.
Ground floor reception space directly
connects to the first floor office through
an impressive new opening in the original
structure. Through the use of dynamic footfall
analysis tools, Arup achieved the ambitious
design for an interconnecting stair.
With no original drawings or technical
information available about how the
building was designed and constructed, Arup
undertook structural analysis to provide
Derwent and ORMS with the confidence
to make changes that would not normally
be possible with such little original data.
The refit of upper office floors uses an
innovative solution, locating the high level
building services in a central zone, concealed
by distinctive reflective metal ceiling rafts.
This achieves a generous ceiling height
of 2.9m under the rafts and 3.4m with
suspended lighting in the perimeter zones.
The building’s lettable area has been increased
by converting the basement car park to
office, creating openings in structural walls
and through the addition of slim mezzanine
floors. The face of the building has been
transformed by cantilevering a striking new
white canopy above double height glazing.
Arup’s engineering designs have helped
to convert a tired 1980’s office building
into an efficient and distinctively stylish
workplace increasing both asset value
and rental income for the client.
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Commercial property
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Images ©ORMS
Enhancing existing portfolios
PricewaterhouseCoopers
UK-wide portfolio
CLIENT
PricewaterhouseCoopers
SERVICES
Portfolio carbon consulting, mechanical, electrical
In addition to assessing existing properties,
Arup is helping PwC understand
the carbon implications of potential
acquisitions into their portfolio.
Having successfully cut the carbon footprint
produced by its UK buildings by 25%
between 2007 and 2012, PwC UK is aiming
for a further 25% reduction by 2017.
Arup carried out a review of PwC’s 39 UK
buildings and identified over 70 ways to
cut carbon, ranging from targeted systems
interventions to major refurbishments and
renewable energy. This review demonstrated
the potential for PwC to achieve its
2017 carbon reduction goal through
improvements to the existing estate.
Arup followed the initial high-level review with
detailed reviews of priority assets, carrying out
energy performance audits where required.
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For buildings with lease renewals pending,
Arup provided an assessment of the long-term
potential of these buildings to deliver substantial
carbon reduction, which informed PwC’s
decision-making in terms of whether to renew.
As a result of Arup’s work, PwC now has
a clear understanding of the potential to
achieve carbon reduction in their existing
portfolio, and the limitations of some of their
key assets. Arup is now informing both their
planned improvements to existing assets,
and their acquisition and disposal strategy.
Commercial property
39
©Flickr/Nathan O’Nions
Enhancing existing portfolios
The Crown Estate
Sustainability Strategy
UK-wide portfolio
CLIENT
The Crown Estate
SERVICES
Sustainability strategy, portfolio carbon strategy
The framework sets a path to achieving
The Crown Estate’s corporate sustainability
objectives, integrating sustainable thinking
within commercial decision making.
Arup worked with The Crown Estate to
develop a new sustainability framework for
its Urban Business.
The framework addresses key activities such
as developments and asset management and
ensures all parts of the business perform to
a minimum standard and adopt a consistent
approach to implementation and reporting.
The Crown Estate is undertaking a major
redevelopment programme of its London
portfolio, making the sustainability of
new developments a major factor in
overall performance. The development
sustainability principles set out reporting
requirements and performance targets
for all future redevelopment and major
refurbishment projects. All projects are now
required to report on progress quarterly
during design and construction. Outcomes
will be validated through a three year
programme of post-occupancy evaluations.
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Arup is also working with the Asset
Management Team to deliver a programme of
carbon reduction in operational buildings, and
is targeting an overall reduction of 200tCO2
in the first year, at a cost of £600,000. The
Ecology Masterplan, developed by Arup, takes
advantage of the unique nature of the London
portfolio and aims to create an ecological
corridor from St James’s Park to Regent’s Park
As a result of our work, The Crown Estate is
now able to look at investment opportunities
across the portfolio and to prioritise those
that offer best value for money. This in turn
is feeding into a long-term plan to achieve
their corporate targets, including a 50%
reduction in carbon emissions by 2022.
Commercial property
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©The Crown Estate
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‘Arup’s Skyline’ - view the timeline at aru.ps/skyline
From left to right:
HSBC Hong Kong
CMA CGM
Commerzbank
CCTV
Citic Square
Al Bahr Towers
HSBC Canary Wharf
The Shard
New World Plaza
122 Leadenhall
Two International Finance Centre
BBVA Mexico
Swiss Re
Punta Schapultapec
Nina Tower
The Pinnacle
International Commerce Centre
52 Lime Street
Heron Tower
Arup’s Skyline
In the last 30 years, Arup
has been involved in the
design of over 650 tall
building projects in more
than 45 countries.
Fold out to see the history of Arup’s
commercial tall building experience.
Paula Walsh
UKMEA Commercial Business Leader
13 Fitzroy Street
London, W1T 4BQ
+44 (0) 20 7636 1531
paula.walsh@arup.com
Cover image:
122 Leadenhall Street
©The Leadenhall
Development
Company Ltd