12 May 2022
Collins delivered the extension and refurbishment of 16 Eastcheap to create Grade A office and retail space across eight floors, along with a new roof terrace offering stunning panoramic views of the City skyline, on behalf of Tellon Capital and 7RE London Ltd.
The project was a finalist in the AJ Retrofit Awards 2022 within the Workplace £5 - £10m category. The project may not have won but it was a fantastic effort from all the team and it shows the amazing quality of the scheme.
Working alongside Savills, Gpad, Colliers, BJB Consulting and Silcock Dawson & Partners, the Collins team revitalised the late-Victorian building to deliver circa 36,000ft2 of first-class office, retail and leisure accommodation.
The building is positioned within the Eastcheap Conservation Area so the team remodelled much of the façade to keep in character with the surrounding buildings and features. The Portland stone façade has been adapted and curtain walling windows installed to improve the ground floor for retail use and to better engage with the street.
Behind its striking original Portland stone façade, the team delivered an enhanced entrance, remodelled reception area and premium workspace throughout. The team enlarged the reception area to create a contemporary and striking entrance as well as installing an impressive double height barrelled ceiling.
Structural alterations included extending the building by constructing a new rooftop extension to house a duplex office and a stunning rooftop terrace. Connected by a bespoke folded steel staircase, the new sixth floor and rebuilt fifth floor form a double height space under a new mansard roof. The extension culminates in the new roof terrace, with views to the South along the Thames, from Tower Bridge to Monument.
Positioned within the view of St Paul's Cathedral, the Monument and the Tower of London, the Collins team needed to navigate the strict planning controls that protect the views of St Paul’s Cathedral. This meant careful planning and coordination was needed to ensure the new rooftop extension complied with protected views regulations and height restrictions.
Collins then converted the ground and lower ground to accommodate retail and leisure use. The basement was reconfigured to form amenity space for the offices, providing bicycle storage and high quality changing and shower facilities. This was achieved by subdividing the floor spaces into the landlord’s plant space and areas to for the shower, cycle and changing room amenities, inclusive of new services.
With construction well underway as the pandemic hit, the Collins team were required to adapt the proposed works to future-proof the office environment with occupier’s health and wellbeing in mind. Collins’s flexible and collaborative approach allowed the team to adapt the programme to provide the infrastructure for a contactless entry system, putting in place a thermal screening point at the front entrance, touch free taps, toilets and entrance doors, as well as installing a filtered air ventilation system incorporated into the air conditioning.
