Robust green
Facing IK Brunel’s 1854 Paddington Station, this building demands a flamboyant, robust design. Spirit of Great Victorian engineer meets 21st century.
📍Location
🏢Building Details
Completed 2019, after a 13-year collaboration
243,400 sq. ft., 17 storeys – overlooking Grand Union Canal
100% pre-let
👷🏾♀️Developer & Contractor
Craig Stokes – Project Leader at Laing O'Rourke
✍️Architects & Engineers
Keith Priest – Founding Partner of Fletcher Priest Architects
Chris Radley – Senior Associate at Fletcher Priest Architects
Conor Will Hayes – Global Structural Sustainability Skills Lead at Arup
Steve Peet – Associate at Arup
Rory Huston – Head of Knowledge Management at Cundall
Alex Hughes – Architect, Industrialised Design & Construction Specialist, Consultant at DfMA Consulting
Andy Luter – Senior Project Manager at Severfield
🌱Sustainability
BREEAM Excellent + LEED Gold + WiredScore Platinum
Over 98% of construction waste recycled
71% improvement in operational energy consumption over typical office fitout: raw materials, air ducts + service pipes exposed, absence of false ceilings
Aquifer Thermal Energy Storage (ATES) system: x2 180m-deep (or 40-storeys) boreholes provide low carbon heating + cooling, taking advantage of stable ground temperatures
Diagrid external structure – a steel exoskeleton which took 3 years to build – reduces embodied carbon + provides 20% external shading on south side
🥦 Wellbeing
Canalside community focus: massive, sliding hangar doors connect reception + double-height restaurant to canal side with new 6m wide towpath
Adaptable, column-free spaces, for companies to respond to changing needs of their business
Spacious internal volumes – floor to soffit heights up to 3.47m – exceeding British Council for Offices standards
2 roof terraces with expansive views, loungers, and soft landscaping
🎈Bonus feature
What to do with a 180m-deep borehole created by a geothermal cooling system? Fill it with a 2-tonne contemporary bronze sculpture – of a plug, of course. Designed by artist Gavin Turk, this giant plug called ‘Axis Mundi’ is visible on the canal side for all pedestrians to ponder.
🔗 Check it out https://www.arup.com/projects/brunel-building
