80 Strand

This iconic Grade II listed building, fronting onto the Thames, has been beautifully retrofitted (Cat A) to create a flexible working space in the Shell Mex building.

A new fully-glazed entrance pavilion designed and installed and new breakout spaces in the form of two double-heigh pavilions in the main lightwell, re-igniting the previously back of house area the pavilion sits in.

Some of the engineering is complex with existing trusses and beams having to be cut to gain access to the lightwell pavilions. We specified cutting two 17m long bridge trusses and some major bridge beams. This was accomplished by propping the existing structure off the new pavilions, which are themselves supported on transfer beams and new foundations at basement level. The new-build entrance pavilion was fabricated by Seele, and the challenges here were associated with creating an elegant structure with very slender elements which is yet able to accept high-spec glazing.