Latest tower approved for International Quarter London

The London Legacy Development Corporation Planning Policy Decisions Committee has approved plans for a new commercial building at International Quarter London (IQL), the £2.4 billion joint venture development between Lendlease and LCR, in Stratford, east London.

The building will provide 32,500m² of new workspace across 22 storeys and will be positioned at the gateway to the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

Designed by architects Arney Fender Katsalidis (AFK), it will be the first building at IQL to incorporate ‘third space’ into its design. These areas, with their variety of uses, are included to create lively and dynamic environments which encourage movement and collaboration throughout the building.

This aspect, together with ground floor retail and first floor leisure space, aims to attract people who work at IQL as well as visitors and local residents, creating a diverse mix of people and a buzz of activity on the building’s doorstep.

Andrew Tobin, Project Director of IQL, Lendlease said:  “IQL is creating a new workplace experience for London, starting with the belief that a workplace should not have boundaries. It has been designed for tenants to have a multi-layered experience that extends from their desk to the variety of third space provisions available in the area.

Earle Arney, CEO at Arney Fender Katsalidis, said: “We are delighted to be working in collaboration with Lendlease and LCR to create the next addition to IQL. Our design for S4 is inspired by Stratford’s industrial heyday and associated railway architecture, while also respecting the significant buildings by RSHP that already exist on the campus. The new building creates a link from the site’s heritage while also setting the scene for future buildings that will join this vibrant new quarter. Our design will be a robust and seemingly weathered addition to Stratford enabling these visual ‘threads’ to connect past and future.”

Around 6,300 employees are now established at IQL with the FCA and Unicef moving their headquarters to the development over the summer. They join TfL who moved to their new building, 5 Endeavour Square, in September 2017.

Construction of the third commercial building is in progress, with space there pre-let to Cancer Research UK and the British Council. Together they shall bring around 2,400 further staff to IQL when they move in late 2019 and early 2020 respectively.