Major London redevelopment dials-in focus on circular economy

Formerly home to J. P. Morgan, the late 1980s-built office building at 20 Finsbury Dials occupies a prominent 0.75-acre site just a stone’s throw from both the new Elizabeth Line stations at Liverpool Street and Moorgate.

Greycoat Real Estate, in partnership with Goldman Sachs, is undertaking a major circular economy-focused redevelopment of the building, centred around Stiff+Trevillion’s architectural vision to create a highly sustainable modern office asset. The scheme, now known as DIALS, will offer 140,000 sq ft of best-in-class space across lower ground, ground, and six upper floors, together with a new landscaped terrace at roof level.

Greycoat’s Director of Commercial and Construction, Naman Masoud, commented: “Greycoat is incredibly proud to be part of a development like DIALS where ESG principles are embedded in every decision. It is truly a privilege to work on a project where every partner and service provider is fully committed to achieving the highest ESG standards. This project has been given a great ESG-driven vision by the client design team, including Waterman, Stiff+Trevillion and Cundall. We are confident that this development will stand out as a best-in-class example of ESG excellence for years to come.”

Delivered by principal contractor, Erith, the remodelling will offer floor plates of just over 20,000 sq ft and floor-to-ceiling heights of around 2.9m, creating spacious, adaptable workspaces. With user experience and wellbeing a key priority, tenants will benefit from access to new amenity space through the addition of a terrace and pavilion at roof level. A new external canopy will help to reposition the building and draw focus to the new double-height reception on the corner of Chiswell Street and Finsbury Street. A secondary ’amenity’ entrance will also be incorporated to provide direct access from Chiswell Street.

Taking a sensitive approach with our interventions, our structural solution will release an additional 8% of space typically per floor using minimal structural adaptations through the use of transformative design techniques. Following thorough investigation of the existing structure’s properties and load capacities, our design is facilitating the transformation of the open five-storey atrium and the addition of the new ‘Club Room’ pavilion at roof level. To deliver this, the original atrium will be infilled using a low carbon solution featuring CLT floor slabs to limit the weight, enabling the retention of the existing structural frame and foundations.

Embracing circularity

Throughout the design process, the project team worked collaboratively to drive down embodied carbon, retain the original building fabric, re-use existing materials on site, and source reclaimed materials wherever possible.

This approach led to the selection of a high proportion of cement replacement for newly added concrete elements, whilst the steel sections required for the new structural elements are being sourced from Cleveland Steel’s reclaimed steel inventory. Elsewhere, the new corner infill will be partially supported by repurposing the existing cladding steels. From a building-wide total of 1,282 tonnes of steel, 89.7% will be retained steel, with the balance of the new steel elements to be split between 75% repurposed and only 25% by weight new steel.

Reflecting on how adopting this methodology impacted the design process, Waterman’s Director for Structures, Andrew Sherlock, said: “The design brief challenged each of us to prioritise the circular economy wherever we could, and this required significant collaboration both across the design team and with specialist supply chain partners, including Cleveland Steel and steelwork contractor, ASME Engineers. We all learnt that early engagement and communication is absolutely vital to a successful outcome; it was a mutually beneficial arrangement, and it drove our creativity as we developed design solutions to suit material availability.”

Commenting on the scheme’s carbon-busting focus, Chris Semones, a Managing Director in the Real Estate Business within Goldman Sachs Asset Management, said in a recent statement: “(this scheme) fits into the ongoing trend of transitioning offices from ‘brown to green’ and aligns with our belief that high-quality and sustainable office buildings in London will continue to enjoy strong demand. We believe the project will prove attractive to ESG focused occupiers and investors alike.”

Targeting energy use in operation

To minimise the environmental impact of the building’s operation, this all-electric building will incorporate high-efficiency MEP technology, reducing operational carbon whilst maintaining performance. Looking to the future, the commercial spaces will be futureproofed through the specification of capped services on office floors, allowing tenants to implement custom fit outs without major services interventions.

Set to complete in autumn 2025, this exceptional scheme is targeting BREEAM ‘Outstanding’, EPC ‘A’, WELL ‘Platinum’, NABERS ‘5*’, and WiredScore ‘Platinum’ ratings.

Images courtesy of Stiff+Trevillion