London’s First Vertical Village
The two-million square-foot gross internal floor space will include 100,000 sq. ft. of amenities and social spaces that will provide occupants with facilities to have a meal, relax and exercise, all within their workplace. As well as communal spaces throughout the building, on the ground floor, there will be art installations visible from the street and this is where art events and classes will be held. At the top of the building, the free public viewing gallery will offer the general public opportunities to enjoy views over London, free of charge. There will be a gym on the 25th floor providing group classes, while a retreat centre on Level 41 will offer a variety of wellness services. In the basement, approximately 1,500 bike racks will be available along with around 100 showers and a repair shop to encourage people to cycle to work. There will also be laundry facilities.
WSP is providing a wide range of consultancy services for this new landmark which is being built on the original foundations of the demolished core of a previous project which stalled in 2012. Our structural engineers are working with the architects to produce an elegant building which utilises the majority of the existing foundations, including nearly all the columns. This inventive solution will provide 20% more floor area than the original design, as well as reducing construction time. We also employed innovative structural support solutions to overcome the challenge of installing a climbing wall on the glazed facade at a height of 125 metres, with unique views over London.
Our building services engineers aim to deliver an extremely efficient building with high targets for sustainability, comfort and occupant wellbeing. The building will require a large volume of services and systems designed with built-in flexibility to accommodate the many ‘as-yet-undecided’ facilities and office layouts required by future tenants. The 2.85 metre high ceiling, and the energy efficient ventilated facades with full-height windows, allow for 20% more natural light inside the building compared with the average office building.
We are providing a full scope of acoustic consultancy services including architectural acoustic design, and building services noise and vibration control, to provide occupants with an acoustically pleasing environment. One of the most challenging features of the design has been a group of emergency generators located in the upper floors of the building requiring significant noise and vibration control.
22 Bishopsgate is the largest project by floor area in the UK to be registered for WELL certification, and it has also been designed to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.
