245 Hammersmith Road, W6 London, UK
Sheppard Robson’s new £115m building at 245 Hammersmith Road (formerly Bechtel House) creates a prominent architectural addition and sequence of new public spaces in the area’s Business Improvement District (BID).
The scheme will provide 22,500m2 of flexible office space and 970m2 of retail space. Rather than being a single structure like the existing Bechtel House on the site, Sheppard Robson’s design reduces the mass of the development by forming the building from two parallel wings that are connected by a central core, which houses circulation space and services.
The reconfiguration of the development’s plan allows the new design to be stepped back from Hammersmith Road, creating the opportunity for a new landscaped space at the front of the development that will be an inviting entrance to the project. This newly recreated plaza will lead through to a landscaped podium garden, with a funicular lift mediating the 8m change of level between the two external spaces.
This office space has been designed to accommodate one to 29 tenants, with the floor plates and servicing providing the maximum level of flexibility. Further connecting the office spaces and the development as a whole to the local community, the project includes a business lounge at ground level and a café that will also be open to the public.
The external envelope of the development is characterised by the use of angled anodised aluminium window surrounds, which have been specified to create a dialogue with the architectural language of the adjacent Conservation Area where terracotta brick is commonplace. The angled aluminium panels in the façades are tailored to their orientation, minimising solar gain and providing dynamic elevations which respond to the changing levels of light during the day.
The project received planning approval from Hammersmith and Fulham Borough Council in November 2014.
- Client
-
- Legal & General Investment Management Ltd / Mitsubishi Estate Co
- Size
- 32,592 m2
- Tags
Understanding
We thought very carefully about rooting the development within its civic setting and how we could bring an underused public space back to life.
Rather than being a single structure like the existing Bechtel House on the site, Sheppard Robson’s design reduces the mass of the development by forming the building from two parallel wings that are connected by a central core, which houses circulation space
and services.
Design Process
An understanding of how to use public space to give the project a civic quality was developed in conjunction with designing a building that was efficient and visually assertive.
The external form of the building is characterised by the use of angled anodised aluminium window surrounds, which have been specified to create a dialogue with the architectural language of the adjacent Conservation Area where terracotta brick is commonplace.The angled aluminium panels in the façades are tailored to their orientation, minimising solar gain and providing dynamic elevations which respond to the changing levels of light during the day.
Successes
By working closely with our interior design group ID:SR, we have created a development that – inside and out – is tailored for media and fashion occupiers. This includes interior concepts for the reception spaces and a range of work settings that have been designed to the specific requirements of those sectors.
Images
Drawings
