COMMERCIAL RETROFIT
A sustainable retrofit of One Exchange Square into a vibrant and connected City of London destination, designed by London-based practice Fletcher Priest Architects, has received a resolution to grant planning from the City of London. The scheme, developed by LaSalle Investment Management and Development Manager M3 Consulting on behalf of Malaysian investor PNB, will result in a 50% reduction of embodied carbon compared to a typical new build, and be net-zero carbon in operation. The proposal for the 13-storey building will deliver 422,000sq ft of high quality workspace and 15,000 sq ft of retail, while retaining 90% of the existing structure and thus keeping the carbon impact of the construction as low as possible. The scheme aspires to be one of the first registered refurbishment projects in the UK to achieve NABERS UK DfP 5 Stars Rating at Design Stage. The building will have 50% less embodied carbon than a typical office building of comparable size, therefore bettering the GLA’s aspirational carbon targets. Further to this, One Exchange Square will be 100% electric and net zero carbon in operation, using intelligent façade design and mechanical services twinned with building management systems to limit operational energy use.
REIMAGINED MANCHESTER ARENA
ASM Global and HOK have announced an ambitious plan to transform the iconic AO Arena in Manchester. Set to begin this summer, the £50-million renovation will enhance the venue’s position as a premier destination for live entertainment through innovative new guest amenities and significant infrastructure improvements. The renovation’s first phase will expand standing-floor capacity, add new hospitality lounges and upgrade the concourse experience. Additional renovations will include brand-new arena entrances, diverse and tailored premium offerings, custom lounges and new VIP seating. These elevated amenities will contribute to revenue generation while differentiating the spectator experience. Backstage improvements will include new artist dressing rooms and production areas, a world-class green room with meet-and-greet facilities, new crew catering spaces, and best-in-class connectivity and technology.
SUSTAINABLE ‘SUGAR FACTORY’
CHYBIK + KRISTOF (CHK) in collaboration with SKANSKA present their new design for the mixed-use residential development on the former sugar factory site due for completion in 2030. Honouring the identity of the Modřany area on the outskirts of Prague, the large-scale project addresses the need to reinvigorate the neighbourhood into a multi-layered entity asserting the architects’ commitment to a holistic social and sustainable approach. With over 6,600 sqm of new public space, the architects foster public interaction and an increased sense of community, ensuring its relevance for contemporary, and future living. Paying homage to the history of the area, the hybrid construction material ‘Rebetong,’ invented by SKANSKA, is being used and exposed as the façade material, stressing the architects’ continuous thirst for new ways of sustainable building and creatively addressing ways of reusing and readapting existing material for construction.
MEMORIAL PARK MASTERPLAN
The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea has appointed Simone de Gale Architects as Lead Architect and Principal Designer on the Kensington Memorial Park Masterplan. Designs are underway with a view to gain planning permissions in 2022, and complete construction in time to launch in 2023. Simone de Gale’s proposals for the project have been developed with the design ethos to retain, reinvigorate and connect. The design is sympathetic to the surrounding vicinity and reflective of the RBKC character as defined in the St Quintin Conservation Area. Simone de Gale’s proposals have introduced elements of traditional construction and combined this elegantly with modern design and contemporary materials.
BOUTIQUE-STYLE DUBLIN HOTEL
Plans by London architects Studio Anyo for a new €15 million boutique hotel and leisure facility in the heart of Dublin will go ahead after the project got the green light following an appeal. The move will see a 65-bedroomed hotel with rooftop bar, mezzanine and basement, together with ancillary facilities, created on Meeting House Lane in the north west corner of the city. Approval to transform the site on behalf of developer Padraig Kehoe of Development 8 was secured on appeal and comes as demand from international tourism for luxury hotel and leisure accommodation in Ireland continues to recover post pandemic. The development will be on a site surrounded by a number of significant buildings and property, including nearby offices and shops in The Capel Building, a popular local fruit market, and the former Cistercian St Mary’s Abbey Chapter House. Studio Anyo has created an ambitious, contemporary design that will see a nine-storey mixed development featuring a hotel and restaurant complex with a spacious glazed roof-top eco-garden. The current basement roof will be removed along with the interconnected second storey building to the rear, internal floors and walls to facilitate the core structure of the new-look property.
