Design Council Cabe supports 鈥榮ensitive response鈥� to 鈥榗hallenging site鈥�

A Design Council Cabe review of media giant Bloomberg鈥檚 new 拢550m London headquarters has praised Foster and Partners鈥� proposals for the site.

In particular, the design-review team said the proposal for Bloomberg Place was 鈥渁 sensitive response to a challenging site鈥� that was 鈥渟oundly integrated with its context鈥� and would 鈥渕ake a valuable contribution to the City of London鈥�.

The review comes after 黑洞社区 that contractor Sir Robert McAlpine had won the contract for the new Bloomberg HQ.

Singled out for praise were the vistas of St Pauls Cathedral that the development鈥檚 new public spaces would open up, and the creation of a dedicated visitor centre for the Temple of Mithras.

Also commended was the building鈥檚 integration with the new Waterloo and City underground station.

The review panel said dedicating the ground floor of the new building to public functions 鈥渁nimates the street in stark contrast to the uninviting edges of the existing building鈥�.

However, they expressed concern that Bloomberg鈥檚 鈥渧ery specific鈥� client brief could set considerable challenges for future occupants.

They said: 鈥淚n order to future proof the project, the design team and client should assure themselves that retrofitting the building to a more conventional layout is both simple and cost effective.鈥�

Finally, the panel said the building鈥檚 elevations had been 鈥渟killfully articulated, with considerable attention paid to orientation and shading through the use of deep reveals and angled fins.鈥�

To read the full review go to:

 

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