- A clear, long-term commitment to the City of London
- A landmark development aspiring to maximise social value and public benefits
- A design approach optimising structural efficiency and material quantities
- A high-quality building with operational efficiency and advanced sustainability measures at its focus
Following a wide-ranging pre-application public consultation, Schroders Capital’s Real Estate team has submitted a planning application to the Corporation of London for a new, tall building at 55 Bishopsgate.
55 Bishopsgate – which would stand at 285 metres (AOD) – features 800,000 sq ft of highly efficient and flexible workspace across 60 floors. The building would occupy the western edge of the existing Eastern Cluster of tall buildings in the City of London. It would also mark the first phase of a broader redevelopment programme within the Corporation’s ‘Renewal Opportunity Site’ – the area designated as appropriate for future tall buildings in the City of London.
Schroders Capital is working with Development Manager Stanhope to deliver the proposals, alongside an experienced design team, led by Arney Fender Katsalidis (AFK Studios), including Hilson Moran, Robert Bird Group, Arup, Townshend, Alinea, DP9 and Hatch Urban Solutions.
The slender, tapering design relies on a highly efficient architectural and structural system that provides a sympathetic response to protected views across the capital whilst seeking to enhance the composition of the existing cluster of tall buildings in the City of London.
At street level, the design significantly improves pedestrian permeability by delivering new, publicly accessible spaces across the entire ground plane. It will offer a mixture of activated spaces that will provide a focal point for residents, visitors and people who work in the area.
A public amenity space, termed the ‘Conservatory’, will occupy the upper levels of the building, offering a programme of curated public events throughout the year, together with an open-air, 360- degree viewing platform above. Public amenity is also included across the lower floors of the building which provide flexible facilities for a variety of public-facing activities including education, creative and arts, community functions and space for NGO platforms. All publicly accessible spaces within the development will be free to access.
The proposals take a considered and evidence-based approach to delivering social value and public benefits, drawing on current best practice in the UK and aligning with the UK Green Building Council’s Framework for social value[1]. A comprehensive local needs analysis – combined with feedback from an extensive public consultation process – helped to shape the resulting public amenity and community spaces.
Consistent with Schroders Capital’s Real Estate Net Zero Carbon commitments, advanced sustainability and energy efficiency measures are integral to the design. The structural design ensures optimal placement of materials, minimising embodied carbon, while a highly efficient building services and energy strategy allows the proposals to target industry-leading accreditations including BREEAM ‘Outstanding’[2], International WELL Building Institute ‘Platinum’ status[3] and a 5.0-5.5* NABERS rating[4].
55 Bishopsgate will be one of the first all-electric tall buildings in the UK. On-floor, fresh air ventilation plant will allow occupiers to benefit from significant flexibility in the operation of heating and cooling systems, as well as facilitating the use of unconditioned, outside air when conditions permit. Extensive bicycle parking with best-in-class shower and changing room facilities are provided, encouraging active lifestyles and fitness.
Nick Montgomery, Head of UK Investment, Schroders Capital Real Estate, said: “The redevelopment of 55 Bishopsgate presents an opportunity to create a landmark, best-in-class highly operationally efficient building with sustainability and wellness at its core. The scheme has been designed with the modern occupier in mind, tailoring the specification and amenities to respond to longer term trends in working patterns by creating high quality, flexible and resilient meeting and workspaces.We aspire to deliver positive social value through the extensive public amenity offering at the site as well.
“The quality of the architecture and public realm improvements will make a strong positive contribution to the built environment and demonstrates Schroders Capital Real Estate’s commitment to investing in the City of London as a key engine of economic growth for the UK.”
David Camp, Chief Executive, Stanhope added:“The proposals for 55 Bishopsgate serve to maximise the creation of flexible workspace in a key City gateway location. Throughout the design process we have worked with a highly focused and dedicated design team to release the delivery of a climate-change-resilient building for the City of London.
“While the recent global pandemic has caused many to question the future of offices, demand for spaces which are able to adapt to the changing requirements of occupiers over time continues to be strong. 55 Bishopsgate is an amenity-rich building that has been designed to appeal to a wide range of occupiers and is appropriately enabled to respond to changing requirements over its lifetime.”
Depending on the outcome of the planning process, it is envisaged that the project will be delivered by the late 2020s.
Further details can be found at: www.55BGConsultation.co.uk
[1]https://www.ukgbc.org/ukgbc-work/framework-for-defining-social-value/
[2]https://bregroup.com/products/breeam/