Soapworks Bristol
Watkins Payne carried out the Independent Design Review role for Block A at The Soapworks development.
With an iconic red brick structure Union House located in Southwark at the intersection of Great Suffolk Street and Union Street, has recently undergone significant renovations. Formerly a warehouse the building has been converted into offices, with its upper two levels demolished and replaced with new fourth, fifth and mezzanine floors. These new levels feature a fully glazed south-facing cranked façade, which provides stunning views to those on the upper floors. The reception, lower ground floor and third floor offices have also been refurbished to maintain a cohesive and modern look.
Due to the significant increase in floor space from these renovations, some challenges had to be overcome such as the building’s single lift and limited electrical supply. To ensure that occupants could reach the upper floors an additional lift was installed. For comfort cooling and space heating a VRF heat pump system was introduced.
Despite the challenges of the renovation, Union House now offers over 28,000ft² of multi-tenanted office space, complete with polished concrete or timber flooring. These upgrades provide the opportunity for quirky and unique office tenancies in the chic South Bank district of London.
Watkins Payne carried out the Independent Design Review role for Block A at The Soapworks development.
A Grade II Listed Building in the St James’s conservation area, 8 Waterloo Place has been refurbished to offer 22,500ft² of high quality office accommodation and 8,700ft² of restaurant shell unit, for which Watkins Payne supplied building services engineering, BREEAM duties and energy consultancy to achieve BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and an EPC B rating.
Apex Tower located next to New Malden train station is a 15-story office development. At ground level an enlarged prestigious reception area is provided which leads to commuter facility with unisex showers and drying room. The refurbishment works is targeting BREEAM RFO ‘Very Good’ and achieved an Energy Performance Certification rating of ‘B’.
The mixed use development comprises two office buildings totalling 220,000ft² of high quality office accommodation together with a 289 unit residential scheme consisting of private apartments and affordable housing building.
Saffron House was refurbished to provide 38,000ft² of high quality office accommodation. Watkins Payne supplied building services engineering which saw the 1st, 2nd and the 3rd floor including the ground floor reception of Saffron House converted into open plan office areas and reception.
