Contractor named for £50M Greenwich commercial scheme

Ardmore has been appointed by developer Knight Dragon to deliver the Design District, a cluster of 16 artistically-inspired commercial buildings devised by a collection of eight separate design practices offering 13,000m² of workspace for creative industries and 6,000m² of education facilities and retail space.

Sitting at the heart of the Greenwich Peninsula master plan, situated between The O2 Dome, North Greenwich Underground Station and the new Upper Riverside residential neighbourhood, the Design District lies at the head of a new park that runs for 600m through the centre of the master plan area.

The buildings comprise a mix of structural and architectural finishes. The mix of external facades includes Terrazzo, weathering steel, polycarbonate and ETFE, in-situ concrete and corrugated aluminium cladding. Structurally, the buildings have been designed as a mix of traditional structural steel, concrete and cross-laminated timber.

Knight Dragon Pre-Construction Director, Paul Symons, said: “Design District will provide a new creative destination for London on the Greenwich Peninsula. A permanent new home for ideas, open to everyone.

“We are delighted to continue our partnership with Ardmore, who have been integral to the bringing this project to site, and their significant experience in delivering complex projects will be invaluable over the next two years.”

Ardmore Managing Director Patrick Byrne added: “We are thrilled to have been awarded this key contract for Knight Dragon, which represents an exciting new phase of the Peninsula master plan.

“Our appointment at the Design District not only builds on the vast experience of the Peninsula we have built up over nearly a decade, but is also testament to our ability to support our clients through the development stages of complex projects, identifying design and construction solutions whilst maximising value to arrive at an early fixed price.

“We look forward to continuing our successful relationship with Knight Dragon to deliver new first-class commercial space for London.”

Ardmore’s work includes the completion of the shell and core and Cat A fit-out of each block, following the completion of the current substructure contract. The project is expected to complete in 2020.