Introduction
Project: LC03 (London Campus 03) / Financial Times Building, London
Location: Southwark Bridge, London
Product(s): Bespoke Solex Mallasol Feature Roof Plant Enclosure
Architects: BDG architecture + design (Shee Ming Loke)
Client: WPP
Project value: £700k
Builder: Structure Tone
Completed at the close of the 1980s, the imposing Financial Times Building overlooks the iconic Southwark Bridge on Southwark Bridge Road in the bustling London Borough of Southwark, offering easy access to the city’s financial and cultural hubs. It’s a highly-recognisable modern office complex and for three decades served as headquarters of the Financial Times newspaper, accommodating the technological infrastructure required for a leading global media organisation and serving as a collaborative space for journalists, editors and corporate teams.
The building has welcomed a variety of guests during its life as home to the Financial Times includingworld leaders, Queen Elizabeth II, Chechen rebel Akhmed Zakayev, chief executives of multinational companies, bankers, economists and the cream of British actors including Vanessa Redgrave.
TP Bennett-designed, the seven-storey building was a prime example of Modernist architecture featuring a contemporary design and reflecting the modernisation of media and the global importance of the Financial Times.
The exterior design featured an impressive, black tinted glass-dominated façade with steel elements, reflecting the sleek, contemporary style of the late 20th century which were common features in modern office architecture of the time.
The building’s design has not been to everyone’s taste, however – its “stark”, “corporate aesthetic” has drawn mixed views over the years.
Although it is still commonly known as the Financial Times Building, the Financial Times newspaper relocated to its former headquarters at Bracken House in 2019 as part of its mission to align its operational base with the evolving demands of the digital age.
The Southwark building was then acquired by WPP – a communications company. Plans were submitted and approved to renovate the building – inside and out – creating a modern office campus. The existing Financial Times Building was considered iconic by many, and the redevelopment came under much scrutiny. However, the £100 million+ refurbishment went ahead. Additionally, the building’s location has been part of broader regeneration efforts on South Bank, including nearby developments such as Red Lion Court, aimed at creating more flexible office spaces and green public areas.
The redesign, by BDG Architecture + Design, replaced the Financial Times building’s dark, glazed façade with a transparent, double-glazed exterior to improve its carbon footprint and align with contemporary standards for energy efficiency.
As part of the renovation plans, a unique plantroom enclosure was required to crown the rooftop and denote a new era for the building, resulting in a highly bespoke brief and included a tight specification.
Due to an existing affiliation (Stockley Park, Uxbridge for ISG) between Solinear’s MD, Tom Dwyer and the project QS (Structure Tone), Solinear was approached about the project and the opportunity to supply a plant room enclosure.
Throughout the tender process, Solinear demonstrated the best understanding of the fully bespoke products and requirements of the project and the versatility offered by Solinear’s Mallsol system achieved the critical factors while maintaining compliance with the architectural requirements. The system would provide durable protection for crucial rooftop equipment, shielding it from debris and the elements – including strong winds gusting across the Thames – whilst also allowing vital natural airflow; it would screen the area, hide potentially unsightly mechanical apparatus and unify the overall appearance of the uppermost level of the building, enhancing aesthetics. The system would contribute to noise pollution reduction, benefitting nearby building occupants, animals and wildlife and heritage sites.
With a choice of two proposals on the table – closely matched in price – Solinear won the contract due to complete confidence in the team’s ability to deliver.
Solinear also complied with the usual prerequisites for the project, for example: production of upper and lower limit samples, etc.
The requirement detailed in the brief was for an imperforate (unperforated) plant enclosure, with very specific geometrical constraints, that could incorporate crucial elements such as maintenance access doors and brackets to support the man-safe system (also known as mansafe or safety line system).
Solinear has always been open about the challenges and dilemmas it has faced, which just goes to prove that we can assess and overcome any obstacle that presents itself to the team. In this instance, a 5.5m (just over 18ft) tall solid aluminium plant screen at roof level (approximately 52ft) of a building immediately adjacent to the River Thames, posed concerns regarding integrity and performance under extreme wind load. Of course, not beyond the competences of the highly skilled Solinear team, but further consideration was given to design and testing.
Manufacturing the huge number of decorative panels, incorporating the various geometrical elements, would be a monumental undertaking and Solinear’s quality control needed to ensure that the quality of the anodized finish was faultless. Anodising is notoriously unforgiving, as unlike powder coating, it etches the surface and exposes/highlights any blemishes in the material, including the grain of the aluminium itself. Each fabrication drawing had to incorporate directional arrows, instructing the fabricator of the orientation of the sheet when it was loaded on to the CNC machine, so that the grain of the aluminium would be uniform across all parts.
Whilst the majority of Solinear systems are manufactured in the UK, the decorative panel elements for this project were fabricated and finished in the Netherlands. This required several overseas day-trips to facilitate quality control, supplier meetings, coordination, etc. and included a visit accompanying the client’s QS in order to evidence the existence of the panels, allowing them to value our applications for payment.
Several of the bespoke panels wouldn’t fit on to a standard sized aluminium sheet, which meant that Solinear had to commission bespoke (7m+) sheets of J57SUP aluminium produced from a coil.
Due to the size and geometry of the aluminium panels, over a dozen wagons needed to be contracted to transport between Etten-Leur (Eften is notable for being where Vincent van Gogh’s career as an artist began and the location of his first art studio which he opened in 1881) and Central London. These all had to be a very specific type of vehicle that allowed efficient offloading by crane when arriving at site and within a tight delivery window.
Solinear is privileged to have worked on some of the UK’s most iconic projects including Battersea Power Station, The First Light Pavillion at Jodrell Bank and The Arches (Tower Bridge, London) , so the prospect of working on the Financial Times building was an exciting one and just like many other Solinear projects, it presented some new and unique challenges as well as a world first!…
Solinear has manufactured some large-scale façade systems, however, the individual panels for the Financial Times building were enormous but this project perfectly demonstrated why the Solinear team has won awards for their professionalism, ingenuity and problem-solving aptitudes…
In addition to the hurdles and solutions already mentioned, crane lifting the sawtooth modules into position – safely, accurately and without damaging the flawless panels – as huge pre-assembled units would pose another challenge for the Solinear team; The solution would be to design and develop a lifting configuration which could be unfastened from the assembly dock, used to lift a module into location and then detached and removed so that the process could be repeated (Nikola Tesla would have been suitably impressed!). Ultimately, this resulted in six assembly rigs on the roof of the building, allowing the assembly process to maintain pace with the crane lifting operation.
Fortunately, due to early engagement along with the proactive planning, knowledge and foresight of the Solinear team, all potential risks or hurdles were identified prior to installation commencing, therefor further issues during the installation process were mitigated. Six of Solinear’s highly-skilled installation team completed the rooftop plant enclosure in just four months with minimal disruption to the general public – quite a feat considering the magnitude of the project.
Whilst a few welcomed the planned changes, understandably there was a degree of criticism voiced by heritage groups and residents about altering the building’s distinctive identity, with some arguing that the updates would diminish its unique character thus rendering it indistinct from other developments in the area.
The apprehensions that this iconic building’s architectural impact would be dimmed were addressed with the stunning reflective, metallic crown incorporating a ‘brightened blue’ anodized finish – a finish that is so bespoke and exclusive that it’s the first time it has been used anywhere…GLOBALLY!
To achieve this unique finish, we could only use J57S UP aluminium – a rolled alloy designed to be an ideal base material for batch anodized aluminum, created specifically by Novelis to meet the requirements of modern architecture.
Special mention must go to Alumet who created the extraordinary ‘brightened blue’ anodized finish and were an absolute pleasure to collaborate with. We look forward to working with them in the future.
Solinear’s level of dedication and attention to aesthetic detail ensured that each panel’s grain would be consistent otherwise there was a risk that the system would have an appearance akin to a patchwork quilt or harlequin effect thus spoiling the smooth, clean lines of the overall system and the building itself.
As Solinear vacated the building after a job well done, it signified the conclusion of the Financial Times building’s most prominent and dramatic update – a striking, bright blue, sawtooth design roofplant enclosure – a spectacular feature of the London vista, reflecting the building’s surroundings and befitting its modernist style. Aside from bespoke aesthetic enhancement, Solinear’s versatile Mallasol system offers vital, robust protection for essential rooftop equipment as well as privacy, natural ventilation and noise reduction, minimising impact on neighboring building occupants, local wildlife and heritage assets.
Stephen John Platts – Southwark Council’s Director of Planning and Growth, commended the Financial Times building for its sustainability-focused design, delivering a ‘best in class’ workspace with its entirely new façade and sympathetic expansion.
During the renovation, several environmentally focused strategies were incorporated to enhance the building’s sustainability performance and target a high BREEAM rating. These included reusing most of the existing drainage system and re-purposing underground tanks to cut rainwater discharge by about a third, the use of recycled aggregates in piles and foundations, the installation of energy-efficient air-source heat pumps for heating and cooling and diverting more than 95% of construction waste from landfill. Additionally, the Financial Times building’s new extensions, curtainwall systems and MEP installations were designed to optimise energy efficiency and overall environmental performance.
A green roof was also incorporated into sustainability features which can help to regulate the building temperature, reduce heat loss in winter and keep interiors cooler in summer, thus lowering energy use and costs. By absorbing rainwater, it can ease pressure on the drainage system while filtering pollutants and improving local air quality. It can also provide refuge for city wildlife, supporting biodiversity in the area and helping to reduce the urban heat island effect. Beyond the green roof’s environmental advantages, it can extend the lifespan of the roofing materials and, along with Solinear’s rooftop screening, cut down on noise emission from the building.
While the refurbishment project aimed for a BREEAM Outstanding rating – the highest standard within the BREEAM scheme (requiring a score of 85% or above – the building is specifically noted to be on track to outperform the requirements for a BREEAM Excellent rating (which requires a minimum score of 70%). This places the building within the top 10% of non-domestic buildings in terms of sustainable and environmental performance. The Financial Times building’s current trajectory positions it significantly above standard practice, meeting ambitious targets for energy, water, waste and occupant wellbeing performance metrics.
We congratulate all those who contributed to the Financial Times building rejuvenation and its sustainable design approach – bringing it into the 21st century and greatly improving its energy efficiency for the next chapter in its fascinating life.
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