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Arup designed 2-3 Finsbury Avenue to replace two existing offices in the Broadgate Campus, near Liverpool Street Station. The development consists of four tapered buildings including a 32-storey tower, and responds to the increasing demand for office space in the City of London.
Arup led the successful planning submission which realised an increase in commercial space from the existing building of 190,471 sqft to 561,254 sqft. and we are currently providing full multidisciplinary services on the project including architecture, structural and mechanical engineering, public health, and all specialist design services.
The architectural design is configured to permit a new and more dynamic pattern of city working and living by providing its occupants with a range of amenities close to hand. At ground level, the street frontages will provide a significantly enhanced retail offering and a new diagonal route has been proposed providing improved connectivity to the north through the Campus. A 13th floor restaurant, café and roof terrace will be accessed by glass lifts.
Project Summary
561,254 sq ft Commercial development
32 Storeys
400seatauditorium 80m above street level
A highly sustainable building
It is the client’s objective to deliver a highly sustainable building that achieves optimal internal environments for the enjoyment and wellbeing of the occupants with the development aiming to achieve a BREEAM Excellent rating.
The project uses a predominately glass façade which creates a clean backdrop to the adjacent Grade II listed 1 Finsbury. Despite its glazed appearance the façade maintains a ratio of 40% clear to 60% opaque insulated areas minimising the cooling needed to keep its occupiers comfortable. The building form has been carefully designed in consultation with Arup’s Wind Engineers to ensure the climate at street level remains enjoyable.
Optimising building integrity
Using a 1:300 scale model of the proposed scheme and surrounding buildings in a series of wind tunnel workshops, the architects and wind engineers were able to optimise the massing of the buildings and incorporate wind mitigation measures without compromising the design.
Advanced computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations provided a detailed picture of airflow patterns and enabled the optimum design and placement of screens, and landscaping features to minimise the effects of wind on pedestrians, as well as visitors to the 13th floor roof garden. These measures were crucial to the scheme’s successful application for planning permission.
Flexible working space
Thanks to a careful design and an extensive dialogue with the City of London’s planning department we helped to create a wide variety of spaces, including a publically accessible terrace, café and restaurant, and possible conference centre which will benefit not only potential occupiers but also the wider City. Floorplate sizes range from 9,000sqft to 33,000sqft, and access and internal circulation has been designed for multiple tenants. A flexible space with potential to house a 400 seat auditorium, will provide a venue for commercial conferences and artistic performances.
Find out about our commercial and workplace architecture expertiseImmersive design
BIM software and processes are central to the project design and delivery. During the early stages of design, our architectural and engineering teams carried out weekly design workshops with British Land Company PLC which were greatly assisted by the use of real time rendering software and BIM modelling. Our architects and engineers have worked closely together to develop a fully coordinated digital model of the building allowing for greater certainty of the projects design parameters and costs. The same model was used to create and artist impressions to support the planning process, and communicate the design to client and prospective tenants.
