London, UK - Office
Set to be client GPE’s first net zero scheme, the deep retrofit of 50 Finsbury Square has been developed and managed with sustainability at its core. The scheme represents a milestone in innovative reuse, reengineering the existing Foster + Partners building and repositioning this major asset to serve the evolving office market.
Designed with the best current building environmental systems, the new building provides a healthy and productive environment for its occupiers. A key architectural invention involved repositioning the entrance to directly address the square, supported by a new street level double height business lounge with a highly sculpted, recycled limestone sculptural wall. Cascading floor plate extensions within the dynamic atrium space providing a variety of workplace settings and adding a carefully composed roof top pavilion with access to meaningful outdoor amenity.
The refurbishment successfully provides greater clarity and legibility to the buildings organisation. From the focal point social hub on arrival, through the variety of open and closed floor plates that wrap around the soaring curved central atrium, the space has been reactivated as a place to work, gather and celebrate. We also incorporated a multi use event space and terrace at roof level. Led by flexibility, technology and sustainability, 50 Finsbury Square provides an adaptive workspace for the future.
Occupying the corner of Finsbury Square, the project commands a pivotal location between Old Street’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’ and the City of London. The building has been substantially, yet respectfully, remodelled and extended without compromising the integrity of the original Foster + Partners design.
Toby Courtald
Chief Executive, GPE
