Creative highlights
A large mixed-use scheme, with office space geared towards the
creative industries, will transform a swathe of land on the edge
of London’s Soho district, offering a host of amenities including
new public realms. Martin Cooper reports.
Located at 111-119 Charing Cross
Road, the plot previously occupied
by the famous Foyle’s book
shop, Ilona Rose House is a new
27,800m2 mixed-use development that will
include ground floor shops and restaurants,
office space on the upper eight floors
including garden terraces, and a four-level
basement that will house Warner Brother’s
European post-production studios,
including a double-height 60-seat editing
theatre.
Surrounding the building, a large portion
of the site is dedicated to new public realm
space with a new café and restaurant-lined
mews linking Manette Street to Greek
Street. The mews will also provide an
entrance to the extensive subterranean
creative office and post production space.
Aiming to achieve a BREEAM
‘Excellent’ rating, the scheme also includes
redevelopment of 14 Greek Street, a Grade
II listed building, which will be protected
and carefully restored. Next door, at 12-13
Greek Street, the façade of the building
is being retained while eight affordable
housing flats are constructed behind it.
The main building consists of a steelframe
superstructure, which is erected
around a centrally-positioned concrete core.
Cellular steel beams, used to
accommodate services within their depth,
have been used throughout. The beams
are typically 725mm-deep with 500mmdiameter
holes at 750mm centres.
From ground floor upwards, the steel
beams support metal decking to form a
composite flooring solution. Externally, the
structure features bespoke precast concrete
façade panels, clipped on to a traditional
curtain wall system.
Work onsite began last year and
following the demolition of the previous
building, an extensive groundworks
programme was undertaken, which
included a deep excavation to enlarge the
existing basement to the required four
levels.
Once the concrete slab for the deepest
basement level four was installed, William
Hare was able to begin its steelwork
programme as the majority of the steel
columns are founded at this level.
The subterranean portion of the building
is a hybrid design, with steel columns and
beams and the floors formed with concrete.
Basement level three has a insitu concrete
deck with no steel beams, but levels two and
one have steel beams with a concrete slab
cast around them.
This method of construction was chosen
as the basement will house office space
Mixed-use
A 'spotlight' atrium is
formed with curved
members.
20 NSC
Jun 20
All photos on this story: Ben Burns, William Hare
/Multi-storey_office_buildings#Mixed_use_commercial_buildings
/Leisure_buildings#Theatres_and_auditoria
/BREEAM
/Facades_and_interfaces
/Concept_design#Concrete_or_steel_cores
/Steel_construction_products#Cellular_beams
/Service_integration
/Steel_construction_products#Decking_for_floors
/Floor_systems#Composite_slabs
/Facades_and_interfaces#Curtain_walling
/Construction