Mitsubishi and Stanhope have completed their retrofit of the former Goldman Sachs offices at Warwick Court in the City of London, a landmark on a number of levels including being overseen by an all-female senior design and development team.
Among its achievements the refurbished Warwick Court has secured Wiredscore Platinum and BREEAM Excellent accreditations, making it one of the most sustainable refurbishments in the City.
The partners say the reuse and upgrade of the 180,000-square-foot building has retained 90% of the original structure and almost halved its operational carbon footprint.
That has helped it secure global investment firm T Rowe Price for 143,000 square feet of offices and commodities trader Mitsui Bussan for 25,300 square feet.
The design and procurement was managed entirely remotely due to the pandemic and the project is still unusual for a major development in central London in having been led entirely by female professionals spanning design, construction, development management and sustainability.
They were: project director Laura Collins of Stanhope, lead architect Mari Samuelsen and interior design lead Amanda Baldwin, both of who work at Fletcher Priest Architects. Mace’s Laura Thomas led pre-construction and Chloe Souque of Waterman Group was the project’s sustainability lead with a focus on minimising carbon use. Stanhope’s Vanessa Murray led asset management and Lara Samworth supported the leasing.
Speaking to CoStar News previously, Collins has said the development is evidence of the industry getting better from a gender balance perspective: “It came about out of pure coincidence. The contractors that we chose had fantastic women leading them, so it all came about organically. But I remember taking a step back and realising that this was the most women-driven team I’ve ever worked with on a project.”
Collins added that having worked in construction for 15 years with several roles at varying companies, the Warwick Court project was a keen reminder of the early days in her career where she was one of four women in a team of a hundred.
The Warwick Court workspace, designed by Fletcher Priest Architects and completed by main contractor Mace, comprises a major refurbishment of the former US investment banking giant Goldman Sachs' HQ in Paternoster Square.
The eight-storey building, originally designed by MacCormac Jamieson & Pritchard, has been redeveloped to meet modern-day expectations for sustainable, flexible and highly connected workspace, the development partners said.
The duo began the 12-month retrofit within the Paternoster Square scheme next to St Paul’s Cathedral in April 2021. The building, which was the location for Channel 4’s First Dates restaurant, was originally completed by Stanhope and Mitsubishi Estate London 17 years ago. The redevelopment is part of the former's wider retrofit agenda, which focuses on bringing historic projects back to life.
Mace-led upgrades to the building, supported by quality surveyor Alinea and structural engineer Waterman, include the complete reconfiguration of the ground floor, offering a more attractive frontage and a mix of retail uses. The main entrance from Paternoster Square has also been remodelled.
Central has been improving the sustainability credentials.
As such the development makes use of natural, low-carbon materials, such as timber, and existing building materials were re-used extensively in line with so-called circular economy principles.
Sixty tonnes of waste wood were diverted from the site and re-used through Community Wood Recycling, a social enterprise that collects wood waste and gives workplace opportunities to local unemployed or disadvantaged people. All other waste was sorted on site with closed-loop recycling schemes used for waterproofing plastics.
Strategic replacement of the existing mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems, including new air source heat pump technology and intelligent LED lighting, also led to around a 45% reduction in operational carbon emissions.
The number of cycle facilities was doubled and two terraces added at levels six and eight with views of St. Paul’s Cathedral. External spaces at levels four and five have been upgraded to create 6,000 square feet of outdoor space.
Shinichi Kagitomi, managing director of Mitsubishi Estate London, said in a statement: “As our first ever project in London, Paternoster Square is very special to us, so the challenge of revitalising Warwick Court for modern-day occupational requirements has been very rewarding. The expertise of the design and technical team has proved what is possible with retrofit technology and we hope to be able to apply these principles to other projects in our portfolio in the future.”
Collins said: “I’m very proud of this talented team, which has taken a landmark City of London office building and revitalised it, upgrading its sustainability credentials to the highest level and making sensitive interventions to its design to create an exemplar workplace which is truly fit for the future. This project is proof that retrofitting is a viable solution to achieving sustainability in the built environment, paving the way to a greener future. Securing lettings from tenants like T Rowe Price and Mitsui Bussan is testament to the project’s success and to the building’s enduring quality."
City planners approved Goldman Sachs’ plans for an 843,922-square-foot new campus at a nearby London site in March 2013. Since then, it has demolished the previous 13-storey Fleet Building at 40 Shoe Lane and Plumtree Court, EC4, and developed a nine-storey office building. In 2011, Goldman bought Plumtree Court in a move which gave the investment bank the opportunity to create a mega campus given the proximity of the property to its Fleet Building.
Cushman & Wakefield is leasing agent.