The speculative office building, built between 1980-1983 and designed by William Whitfield of Whitfield Partners for the Crown Commissioners, was Grade II-listed in May 2018 and has undergone a major transformation. Together, contractors, Parkeray, and project managers, Jackson Coles, have successfully delivered high quality, Cat A office space and new shell and core MEP services.
Forming part of the wider 2 Bessborough site, the office tower is situated directly above Pimlico underground station. Stiff+Trevillion’s architectural design for the commercial refurbishment has sensitively updated the existing facilities, retaining the original building fabric and elements of architectural or historic interest, including the oak panelling in the double-height entrance lobby at the centre of the building, whilst the various high security features in this space required by the previous occupier, the Metropolitan Police, have been removed.
Waterman’s building services, environmental and structures teams provided a full multidisciplinary design service to enable the building’s transformation and deliver spacious, modern offices all accessed through the stunning shared entrance lobby. Adaptations to the building’s core were overseen by our structural team, with the overall design rationalising the extensive seven-storey office space on the building’s upper floors to maximise usable space, whilst also delivering additional cycle parking, shower and changing facilities to help encourage active travel uptake.
As part of the drive to make the development ‘Fossil Fuel Free’, our building services experts developed the new MEP strategy which features air source heat pumps, intelligent building controls and low-energy lighting throughout, slashing operational energy consumption by over 50% to achieve an EPC B-rating. Levels two and five have been delivered to Cat B to provide flexible workspace, with each floor providing kitchen facilities and meeting areas, whilst the remaining floors are fitted-out to Cat A. At the heart of the strategy to reduce operational carbon is the latest heat recovery VRF technology for heating and cooling, with hot water generated via heat pumps using cutting-edge CO2 Q-ton air to water units which, in combination with the LED lighting, ensures the substantial energy efficiency improvements, reinforcing the sustainability credentials of the completed development.
Mark Terndrup, Waterman’s Managing Director of Building Services – South, said: “This exciting project presented some unique challenges as we worked to re-position the existing listed building. The scheme required us to think carefully about the listed fabric of the building and choose appropriate design solutions to protect these whilst delivering modern, tech-enabled, sustainable office spaces. Using an innovative approach, we have now halved the building’s operational energy consumption, helping to create highly sustainable offices in this thriving area.”
