City fringe scheme to transform 1990s block into 36-storey office
KPF鈥檚 proposals to transform the Inmarsat building on Old Street roundabout into a 36-storey office tower have been submitted for planning.
The City fringe scheme, designed for property developer Endurance Land, would insert a new core into the existing 1990s building at 99 City Road but keep the majority of its structure, including its foundations and basement.
The 154m-tall scheme would start construction once Inmarsat, a satellite telecommunications firm, moves to new premises next year.
No contractor for the project is known to be on a pre-construction services agreement. Planning documents say a builder will be officially appointed if the application is approved, which is expected this summer.
The project team currently includes structural engineer AKT II, Atelier Ten on MEP, Publica on public realm design, planning consultant DP9, townscape consultant Montagu Evans, Sweco on vertical transport, project manager Avison Young and cost consultant Arcadis.
The new tower would contain around 65,000 sq m of office space and is intended to serve as a gateway to the City of London and a shot in the arm for Old Street roundabout鈥檚 flagging tech cluster, known as 鈥淪ilicon Roundabout鈥� or 鈥淭ech City鈥�.
The area, named in reference to California鈥檚 Silicon Valley, was heavily promoted by former prime minister David Cameron in the years following the 2008 financial crisis as a centre of British tech innovation.
But a number of high-profile firms have left the area in recent years to set up bases in other parts of the capital, including Google, which closed its seven-storey Campus startup hub last year.
A tall building study carried out by Islington council in 2018 argued the site should become the 鈥渇ocal point鈥� of the tech cluster and said any tall building would need to be of 鈥渙utstanding architecture鈥� that adds a 鈥渄istinctiveness鈥� to the area.
KPF says its plans would see a 274% increase in public realm compared to the current site, along with a new urban roof garden and 900 cycle parking spaces.
It would also include a 3,000 sq ft triple height space on the ground floor, dubbed the 鈥済reat room鈥�, which would be open to the street during the summer months and would host cultural events.
The scheme鈥檚 public square also aims to create a new 鈥榓rrival鈥� point at the roundabout which leads off from Weston Williamson & Partners鈥� new Old Street station, which is currently being built by contractor Morgan Sindall and is expected to open in 2024.
No comments yet