61 Whitehall is the long term home since 1895 of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) that needed a complete refurbishment and upgrade to suit its current day needs and operational requirements. The works to the Grade II* listed building included the addition of a new floor, fully refreshed library and function rooms, plus creation of a south facing dome that will be used for multiple different events using electrochromic glazing.
The MEP services were all replaced with a focus on energy efficiency using air source heat pumps, LED lighting and natural ventilation where possible. The services were designed to suit the bespoke fit out requirements of RUSI all integrated into the architectural features within the listed building.
Watkins Payne provided MEP systems and IT cabling design services for the fit-out of 186,000ft2 of commercial offices in the eight storey 1 Forbury Place in Reading, which formed the focus of SSE Services plc’s relocation strategy to consolidate several buildings from across southern England and accommodate 1,500 employees in a single location.
Watkins Payne reviewed a number of mechanical and electrical options with the team, focusing on retention of key central plant, overhaul and replacement of plant where required, and LED lighting to reduce energy and improve the office environment.
The speculative office space is fitted out to a Category A standard and will be British Council of Offices (BCO) Guide to Specification 2019 compliant. The refurbishment has adjusted the temperature control zones to pull them better in line with the BCO recommendations than currently provided.
The development is an 12 storey building comprising 13,475m2 (NIA) of office area over basement to eleventh floor and 141m2 of retail area located on ground floor.
Academy House was refurbished to provide 22,100ft² of high quality office accommodation. Watkins Payne supplied building services engineering which saw the 3rd to 6th floor including the ground floor reception of Academy House converted into open plan office areas and reception. This became the London headquarters for Sports Direct.
32 Duke Street in the heart of St James’s, the contemporary development known as The Marq comprises mixed use accommodation, with A1 and A3 retail units across ground and basement floors and 35,460ft2 of office space on six upper levels.