DESIGN UPDATE
The core members of the team involved
in this project are:
Architects: Sheppard Robson / Morrow + Lorraine
Project Manager: GVA / Second London Wall
Landscape Consultant: Martha Schwartz
Planning Advisors: DP9
Townscape Consultant: Peter Stewart
Heritage Advisor: K M Heritage
Structural Engineer: Arup Structures
Services Engineer: Cundall
Transport Consultants: Arup Transport
Quantity Surveyor: Gardiner and Theobald
Archaeology Consultant: CgMs Consulting
WELCOME AND
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for taking the time to attend our second public exhibition.
This exhibition builds upon feedback collected at our first exhibition in October,
which focused on the heritage present on the site and our vision for the site
going forward.
Having listened to your views and held extensive meetings with the London
Borough of Tower Hamlets, officers from Historic England and other
key stakeholders, we have developed our ideas and would once again like
to seek your opinion, prior to finalising our planning application.
The key themes from the exhibition and subsequent
meetings with the planners were as follows:
• Opening up the site and stitching it back into the
surrounding area was seen as a positive move.
• Reinstating the access route from the St Mary Graces
residential onto the site and through to Tower Hill
station via step free access was requested.
• The heritage elements, especially The Johnson Smirke
Building, should be the focus for the masterplan
of the whole site.
• The new buildings should be set out to improve
the setting of the key listed building, The Johnson Smirke.
• More retail on the site was requested.
DESIGN UPDATE
3
4
2
ACCESS
OPTIONS FROM
TOWER HILL TUBE
ACCESS
FROM DLR
1
STITCHING THE SITE INTO
THE SURROUNDING AREAS
The Royal Mint Court site is approximately
5.18 acres and currently cut off from
surrounding public space by the listed wall
and current road system.
Following on from the first exhibition, two
key desire lines were felt to be positive
additions to the local area. Both have been
incorporated in the current proposition.
1
Desire line n°1 is a north/south link from
Mansell Street, through a new opening in
the wall, via the rear courtyard and step
free access to East Smithfield and
St Katharine Docks.
2
Desire line n°2 is the reopening of the
route from St Mary Graces and the eastern
residential uses into the heart of the site,
and via step free access to Tower Hill
tube station.
3
Routes through the site provide local
residents with easy access to the proposed
retail offer within the site.
4
Finally, the heritage contained on site
has been used to generate a concept of
symmetry and organisation for the setting
out of Murray and Dexter House, which
will dramatically improve views of the
Johnson Smirke Building, enabling a greater
appreciation of the full history of the site.
DESIGN UPDATE
DEXTER HOUSE
MURRAY HOUSE
THE REGISTRY
REAR COURTYARD
JOHNSON SMIRKE
FRONT SQUARE
STAFF HOUSE
SITE MASTERPLAN/
CONCEPT
• The development approach to the site is to base the design around
the formality and symmetry of the Johnson Smirke Building and
use this pivotal building to set out the proposals for the developed
Murray and Dexter House, to the rear of the site. In addition,
Murray and Dexter House will be cut back to allow better views
from outside the site to the Johnson Smirke Building.
• In the front square, the formality of Johnson Smirke sets out
a new building to the south/west to enclose the front square
and provide a more sympathetic setting to the Johnson Smirke.
This building replaces one demolished in the 1940s.
• The Registry Building will see the removal of the sub standard
1980s cladding and propose a more appropriate material palette
to compliment the retained listed facades.
• Key openings into the external wall will allow better linkages
to the new public spaces as noted on Board 2.
• The elevation and courtyard treatment of Murray and Dexter House
will support the formality generated by the Johnson Smirke Building.
• All external areas are accessible to the public with new landscaping,
both hard and soft.
DESIGN UPDATE
THE JOHNSON
SMIRKE BUILDING
• Johnson Smirke is a Grade II* listed building. During
the 1980s the building was refurbished and converted
into offices and as a result underwent major demolition.
Most of the building was demolished apart from the façade,
main staircase and clock. It is currently vacant.
• Externally the stone and brickwork façade is in reasonable
condition and the proposal is to undertake a full overhaul
and repair regime to bring it back to its past glory. Much
of the rear elevation was altered by work in the 1980s
and was not rebuilt in line with the original design.
GROUND FLOOR PLAN
• The interior is outdated and suffers from poor natural light.
Generally the building core and toilet layouts are poorly
designed and not fit for modern use. The proposal will seek
to improve these areas by way of a more rationalised
and efficient design, deployed in a manner that is sensitive
to the buildings listed features.
• The proposal leaves the front and side elevations almost
untouched.
• The main external change is the replacement of the top floor
1980s extension on the rear elevation, which was designed
in an insensitive and ill-considered way. Through working
closely with a heritage adviser, Historic England and London
Borough of Tower Hamlets, we have produced a design
that is far more in keeping with the character of the original
building, and drastically improves the internal quality
of space.
• Other external changes include minor alterations to
the ground and lower ground floor rear openings, and
the addition of two new bridges giving the new retail
units access to the courtyard.
NEW INTERNAL DOUBLE HEIGHT LINK FROM THE SECOND TO THIRD FLOOR
DESIGN UPDATE
PUBLIC REALM
PUBLIC REALM
MURRAY AND
DEXTER HOUSE
• All 1980s cladding will be removed.
• The front bays of the building will
be cut back to improve the setting
of the Johnson Smirke Building.
• The remainder of the existing
structure will be retained to provide
a more sustainable development,
reduce construction noise and speed
up the delivery programme.
• The building will provide good quality,
sustainable office space with retail
at ground floor level.
• The building will be capable of
providing employment for 5,000+
people.
• The building will comply with all
appropriate current disabled and
environmental legislation.
• The newly landscaped rear courtyard
will provide an exciting backdrop
to the retail, with the reinstated
route through to the residential
located to the east.
DESIGN UPDATE
MURRAY AND
DEXTER HOUSE
VIEW INTO REAR COURTYARD
NEW VIEW THROUGH FROM EAST SMITHFIELDS TO JOHNSON SMIRKE
VIEW ACROSS REAR COURTYARD
DESIGN UPDATE
THE REGISTRY
BUILDING
• The existing listed facades will be
retained and refurbished.
• The sub-standard 1980s cladding
located largely to the rear will be
removed and replaced with high
quality brickwork to complement
the existing listed facade.
• The large 1980s mansard roof
will be removed and replaced
with a more elegant, part glazed
office floor.
• The Registry Building will be
designed to provide employment
for 700+ people with extensive
retail at ground and lower ground
levels.
• The new design to Mansell Street
will greatly enhance the appearance
of the building from outside of
the site.
DESIGN UPDATE
THE NEW
STAFF HOUSE
• In order to reinstate the formal
setting of the front courtyard, we
propose to reinstate the original
Staff House Building at the front
of the site, which was demolished
in the mid-20th century. The
building is to provide a possible
mix of uses and will:
• Reinstate the original symmetry
of the forecourt surrounding the
Johnson Smirke Building.
• Provide a protective arm around
the front landscaped courtyard.
• Be set to match the earlier building,
with the appearence following the
language of the listed elements
of the Registry Building.
• Provide retail and office use,
with disabled access from the
existing subway.
DESIGN UPDATE
PUBLIC REALM/
LANDSCAPE
A
B
To increase the permeability of the public realm
we are proposing the following:
A. Front Courtyard
• Opening up the Lawn area and providing
a more direct route from the street via the
removal of the fence.
• Reinforcing the symmetry of the Johnson
Smirke building using an axial configuration
of the Public Realm.
01 FRONT LAWN. CURRENT
02 REAR COURTYARD. CURRENT
02 FRONT LAWN. PROPOSAL
04 REAR COURTYARD. PROPOSAL
03 FRONT LAWN. PERSPECTIVE VIEW. PROPOSAL
04 REAR COURTYARD. PERSPECTIVE VIEW. PROPOSAL
• Introducing seating on the lawn, providing
views of the surrounding area and the
Johnson Smirke Building.
B. Rear Courtyard
• Creating a Tree Grove, adding greenery
to the space.
• Subdividing the space to provide more
flexibility.
• Introducing glass paving and metal pavers
to view the archeological remains below
the site.
DESIGN UPDATE
SUSTAINABILITY
Royal Mint Court will be designed to achieve an ‘Excellent’
BREAAM environmental standard. The environmental
solutions will incorporate the following elements:
• 1000m2 of high efficiency photovoltaic panels to generate
carbon-free electricty for the site.
• Selected electrical and mechanical systems which will
save 1,100 tonnes of CO2 per year, which equates to a
47% improvement over the 2013 Building Regulations
requirements.
• Provision to connect to local district heating network
when available in order to future proof the site.
• All buildings to be connected to a site-wide low carbon
heat network, supplied by a combined heat and power
plant.
• Extensive cycle facilities to encourage the use of green
transport and promote healthy lifestyles.
• Green roofs and increased landscaping to improve
biodiversity on the site.
• Blue roofs to reduce water discharge from the site.
• Reuse of existing structure and facades where possible
to reduce the embodied energy of the development by:
Retained Steel= 1500 tonnes= 2855 tonnes
of embodied CO2.
Retained Concrete= 5240 tonnes= 1340 tonnes
of embodied CO2.
• Centralised recycle facilities to reduce the amount
of waste to landfill.
• All timber to be procured from responsible forest sources.
• Low energy LED lighting, with automated daylight and
occupancy controls to reduce electricty usage.
• Maximised natural daylight via solar efficient glazing to
improve occupant comfort and reduce energy consumption.
• Good solar control to reduce cooling loads and
Carbon Emissions.
• Enhanced thermal insulation levels to reduce energy
consumption and Carbon Emissions.
n Site: 3rd Quarter 2015
ated Completion: 2018
DESIGN UPDATE
we would be grateful if you
r views. The exhibition boards are
k from Monday the 23rd of March
e. If you have any further questions,
WIDER BENEFITS
TO THE COMMUNITY
JOBS
DELANCEY AND CHARITY IN THE COMMUNITY
The Development should provide in excess of 5,000 jobs on site.
Delancey is committed to supporting key initiatives in the local
communities in which their projects are based, including the
local Tower Hamlets community.
• Office (4,887 jobs)
• Retail, Restaurants/Cafes and Gym (335 jobs)
* The estimated jobs total was calculated using the Homes
and Communities Agency’s (HCA)’s Employment Densities Guide,
2nd Edition, 2010.
The Development will also provide further indirect jobs, as a result of
the purchase of goods and services by businesses located with
the Development. This is estimated at 842 local jobs.
* The figure acounts for displacement and leakage, induced and indirect
effects, using methodology as stated in the English Partnerships, 2008,
‘Additionality Guide: A Standard Approach to Assessing the Additional
Impacts of Projects’.
Expenditure
The total figure of 6,064 jobs generated directly and indirectly by the
Development would generate approximately £243,863,760 Gross
Value Added (GVA) annually into the regional (London) Economy.
* ONS data for GVA per employee in London - £40,215 GVA per
employee.
Employee spend (5,222 jobs) from the Development would be
expected to bring an additional £4,361,414 per year into the local
economy.
* Employee spend was calculated by assuming 60% of employees
would
spend £6 per day on food and drink on 232 days per year.
Local Upskilling
It would be a client requirement for the selected contractor to use an
agreed % of local trades and to provide local apprenticeships in the
construction of the buildings.
Snow-Camp
• Over the last 3 years Delancey has been supporting the innovative
youth charity Snow-Camp. Snow-Camp’s programmes seek to
positively change the lives of disadvantaged inner city young
people by combining snowsports and intensive youth work to
engage, challenge and motivate, ultimately transforming their
attitudes and behaviour to enable them to develop key life-skills,
gain qualifications and find employment.
• Over the last few years Snow-Camp has been working in Tower
Hamlets and formed strong partnerships with organisations such as
City Gateway. We are delighted to report that last summer SnowCamp grew their reach in the borough, introducing 45 local children
to the programme and engaging with a further four organisations.
Chess in Schools
• Delancey is the sole sponsor of the UK Schools’ Chess Challenge.
Beginning every Spring Term, and continuing over four stages and
eight months, the tournament reaches over 50,000 children across
the UK each year, including 108 children from Tower Hamlets over
the last 9 years; a number we are looking to grow further in the
forthcoming years.
• Delancey has recently committed to funding a school and library
programme in Tower Hamlets for the inner-city charity Chess in
Schools and the Community (CSC).
East End Community Foundation
• Delancey is a business member of the East End Community
Foundation, which is dedicated to increasing opportunities for
people living in London’s East End boroughs.
DESIGN UPDATE
• The current buildings are empty and at
the end of their useful economic life.
• The buildings have poor quality cladding
and engineering systems, and have poor
sustainability from an environmental
viewpoint.
• The image of the site is one of neglect
and emptiness.
• The public realm is tired, lacking in
imagination and not accessible to the
public, due to the impenetrable listed
wall and lack of access through the site.
• The heritage on site is not accessible
or appreciated by the public.
• All the above has been considered
in our updated proposals.
EXISTING DEVELOPMENT
SUMMARY RESPONSE TO
FIRST EXHIBITION FEEDBACK
• The proposals seek to fully regenerate
all buildings and provide employment
use for in excess of 5,000 people, in over
500,000 sq. ft. of net office space.
• 66,000 sq. ft. of retail uses; bars,
restaurant, gym and general support
space will be included for office users,
local residents and the surrounding area.
• Openings in the walls on the north and
south elevations will provide a clear route
through the site towards St Katharine
Docks from Mansell Street.
• The residential route onto the site from
the east will be reinstated.
• The new buildings will provide a dynamic
use of office and retail set within newly
accessible landscaped public squares
and courtyard.
• The new buildings and public realm will
greatly enhance the heritage of the site,
and provide an improved setting and
public access to the Johnson Smirke
Building.
• The rejuvenation of this key gateway into
the London Borough of Tower Hamlets
will serve as a marker to the wider
aspiration for the borough.
PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT