The Bower wins Building Award

Published 8th August 2023

Waterman are delighted that The Bower won Building Refurbishment Project of the Year at the Building Awards on 5 November.

Held at the Grosvenor Hotel, London, the prestigious annual awards are the industry’s longest-running recognition of excellence, celebrating exemplary design and construction across the industry.

Located next to London’s Old Street roundabout, The Bower is a mixed-use landmark designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) Architects, offering vibrant retail and restaurant space at ground level with three high-quality office buildings framing the mews; The Tower, The Warehouse and The Studio.

The Tower’s existing 14 storeys were previously used as a telephone exchange for British Telecoms. By removing the original 1960’s cladding and screeded floors, three additional floors were able to be included at roof level alongside staggered side extensions to create dramatic double-height ‘living room’ spaces for the tenants.

The Warehouse was completely refurbished and stripped back to expose the existing structure, increasing its overall floorplan to 122,000 ft2 across 11 storeys with the addition of both side and rooftop extensions. Private roof terraces were inserted on the fourth, eighth and ninth floors to complement the dynamic working spaces.

The new three-storey office building, The Studio, was constructed out of exposed reinforced concrete flat slabs and separated from its towering neighbours by a ramped pedestrian walkway that portrays Old Street’s urban history with a dramatic ‘art wall’. Our team were appointed by Helical Plc to carry out civil and structural engineering design services for the 320,000 ft2 scheme.

Charlie Scott, Director for Waterman Structures, commented; “We are very proud to have been a part of this award-winning project with such a great team. The Bower is a celebration of exemplar refurbishment and new build techniques in the heart of Old Street which are now home to some of the UK’s leading creative businesses.”

Congratulations to all the teams involved in this exceptional scheme.

The multiple-award nominated development also recently won a RIBA London Award.

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