4 January 2023
Collins is proud to announce the completion of Yarnwicke, a new six-storey office development in the heart of the City, on behalf of Riverside Capital. Yarnwicke, formerly known as Sherborne House, has been fully transformed to offer everything from plug-and-play office space to Cat A floors, luxury amenities and balconies providing striking views overlooking the City tower cluster.
The Collins team delivered the challenging refurbishment to 119-121 Cannon Street to create a new 37,000 sq ft office space offering various workspace solutions, finished to the highest standard, and fit for the modern world. From fully fitted plug-and-play offices and Cat A spaces for businesses to make their own, to new private terraces on the fifth and sixth floors, every surface and fixture has been designed and installed with the finest quality and functionality in mind.
The building has been sustainably refurbished and extended to make the space more attractive for future occupiers with the floor plans being made larger, more open, and more spacious for modern use. The team carried out challenging structural alterations to remove the pitched roofs and floors four to five, followed by the construction of a new two-storey extension made from CLT timber, steel, and re-used materials from the existing structure including stone, steel, slate and windows. The part-listed façade was carefully restored to bring the character and period features back to life, seamlessly combining old with new.
The existing lift shaft was also removed and infilled to create more spacious floors for occupiers. When opening up the building the team discovered the lifts were operating an old hydraulic system – the hydraulic shaft was 80 meters in length and sat 20 meters below the ground, which had not been accounted for in the original programme. This took a redesign of the demolition and temporary works, and the introduction of a phased approach to remove the lift shaft whilst minimising the effect on the programme.
The top two newly constructed floors were then fit out as Cat A spaces, ready for businesses to move into and make their own. Both floors benefit from newly installed roof terraces and floor to ceiling windows to increase natural light within the space. The team also created a brand-new seventh floor roof terrace that can be used by all tenants within the building, providing stunning views of the vibrant local area.
Following the extension, the team delivered a premium plug-and-play fit out to the second, third, and fourth floors. The team installed a high-level, comprehensive technology infrastructure to make the workspace efficient in use and meet the required BREEAM Excellent criteria. Each floor has various workspaces fitted to the highest quality, including meeting spaces, open plan co-working and collaborative areas, phone booths, and fully fitted kitchens and tea points.
Bill Bowers, Divisional Director at Collins Construction, said: “It has been a pleasure working with Riverside Capital to deliver this project as a great example of how refurbishment and fit out can really transform a historic building into an office space of exceptional quality. Delivering multiple workspace solutions under one roof with structural alterations will always provide challenges, but Collins’ one-team approach has allowed us to work dynamically and collaboratively to ensure each stage of the project has been delivered to the same high quality.”
Dominic Wright, CEO at Riverside Capital, said: “Collins Construction has delivered a fantastic building on a difficult site, and in very challenging conditions. The day-to-day construction expertise provided by Collins alongside our excellent professional team has allowed us to successfully complete our finest development to date.”
The full design team included: Barr Gazetas, Blackburn & Co., Knight Frank, Heyne Tillett Steel, MTT, and Gerald Eve.
