AHMM behind makeover for South Bank landmark which has been given grade II protection
The IBM building on London鈥檚 South Bank has been listed, throwing a spanner in the works of AHMM鈥檚 redevelopment plans.
Historic England granted the National Theatre鈥檚 neighbour grade II protection and turned down a request for a certificate of immunity from listing.
The Twentieth Century Society which had been lobbying for listing and which raised concerns over AHMM鈥檚 鈥渉eavy-handed鈥� proposals, welcomed the news.
Senior caseworker Grace Etherington said: 鈥淲e are thrilled and relieved at this decision. Our concerns about the scheme had largely been ignored, so we鈥檙e glad that there is now further weight behind our argument that the building鈥檚 massing and areas of detailing at street level should not be compromised. The time is right for AHMM to go back to the drawing board.鈥�
AHMM鈥檚 proposals for Wolfe Commercial Properties Southbank 鈥� owned by the United Arab Emirates-based Easa Saleh Al Gurg Group 鈥� were lodged with Lambeth council in February. They would have added more than 20,000sq m of new business space to the building and were intended to bring the 1980s brutalist building鈥檚 terraces to life.
Stanhope is developing the scheme on behalf of the Dubai owner and had been expected to begin talking to contractors about the 拢200m construction contract towards the end of this year.
Work on the building, which sits between ITV鈥檚 London home and the National Theatre, will go out to tender once IBM has moved its staff out. It is not clear whether the firm will move back or look for new, permanent space elsewhere in the capital.
Others working on the job include consultant Exigere, Heyne Tillett Steel as structural engineer and Watkins Payne as M&E engineer. CBRE is planning consultant while Butler and Young is approved inspector.
The IBM building, which is the firm鈥檚 European headquarters, was once owned by Alan Sugar, whose real estate arm Amsprop sold it to Saudi investors seven years ago in a deal understood to be worth around 拢120m.
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