Verde SW1 with Striking Glass Façade, Glass Atrium and Roof Gardens. Verde SW 1 is a state-of-the-art, office-led redevelopment in the heart of London`s West End. A striking glass facade with a glazed atrium over nine storeys allowing plenty of daylight into the building. This unitized aluminium-glass façade with high transparency and six dramatic roof gardens are essential to create a 21st century workplace in London´s Victoria, and also for productive business.
Originally developed in 1995 Verde SW 1 was refurbished, extended and turned into a modern office building. The former Eland House building was clad with a Gartner façade. For the new building, Josef Gartner manufactured façades with a total area of approximately 14,000 sqm and numerous element variants with 300 element types in 13 different façade types. The large corner elements are a significant feature of the building. The steel façade of the ground floor with 12 m high mullions supports the 3 m x 7 m large double glazing. Though the old façade has still been functional, the new facade can dramatically improve energy-efficiency and the use of daylight. Glass façades now achieve an overall U-value of 1,4 W (m²K).
Designed to improve well-being of workers and productive business
The former Eland House was occupied in its entirety by the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG), a UK Government body. Tishman Speyer acquired the property in January 2012. Internationally renowned architects Aukett Swanke from London increased the net internal area by 60,000 SF by adding additional floors.
With a statement new glass façade and six dramatic roof gardens, we are creating a 21st century workplace, designed with the wellbeing of workers and productive business in mind
From basement to rooftop, every detail has been shaped to create an efficient and harmonious space for flourishing businesses and employees to enjoy amenities. The building will provide a triple-height reception and both open and cellular office configurations. From six generous green roof terraces, a so-called “park in the sky”, users can enjoy a spectacular view of London. A special entrance was built for cyclists including 440 bicycle stands, changing rooms and shower facilities.
Iconic building in the district of Victoria 49 m high Verde SW1 sets high-quality accents in the district of Victoria with its puristic but elegant building envelope and an entrance façade with three floors. It is strategically located within 150 m away from a new entrance to Victoria Station, one of London’s most important traffic junctions. Main tourist attractions like Buckingham Palace, St. James’s Park and Westminster Abbey are situated in this dynamic and attractive shopping quarter in the West End. In recent years it has been transformed into a vibrant business district.
Bicycle path allows workers to ride into the building and underground parking
Distributed over nine floors the building offers 26,199 sqm of class-A office space with floor areas from 1,300 sqm up to 3,160 sqm. A supermarket and other shops are supposed to move into the ground floor. The six roof terraces situated on floors 6 to 11 spread over an area of 1,850 sqm and offer unique views.
“Green” concept with sustainable and environmental features
The new iconic building offers an array of sustainable and environmental features designed to reduce consumption whilst enhancing the everyday lives of tenants. Efficient design includes both technical, environmental and operational features which are all intended to provide the best possible experience for tenants on both a human and financial level. To lower operating costs tenants will be able to track their own energy consumption with on-site energy and carbon footprint monitoring and reporting.
Though the old façade has still been functional, the new facade can dramatically improve energyefficiency and the use of daylight
The “green” concept with sustainable features, an energy-efficient and full-height glass façade and a central glass atrium which floods the office floors with natural daylight is essential to achieve the highest sustainability certification according to BREEAM “Excellent”. Health and wellbeing have been addressed through the creation of open spaces, green areas and terracing. By retaining 80 % of the existing structure, Verde has saved an estimated 8,500 tonnes of carbon, significantly minimising its impact on the environment.
Office with a view
In September 2016, the sandwich shop chain Pret A Manger announced to relocate its London headquarters to Verde SW 1. The company will be taking the first floor for its office and development kitchen. A new Pret A Manger shop will also open in the ground floor retail unit. The management consulting and technology firm PA Consulting will take nearly 60,000 sq ft in the building. Tenants also include Oaktree Capital and Waitrose.
Façade refurbishment to improve thermal insulation and U-values
Verde SW 1 is also a good example for façade refurbishment highlighting the technical development in the façade building industry as well as the new possibilities of energy saving with modern façades. For the former Eland House, Gartner has produced façades as well as solar walls, sky lobbies and roofs as a thermally separated aluminium construction. The storeyhigh façade units were provided with top-hung smoke vent windows which open to the inside of the building. Dimensions of the windows are: 3,66 m high and 6 m wide. In the upper part of the façade units, single glazing was used to provide sun protection. Compared to Eland House, the Verde façade consists of 300 different types of elements and of 13 different types of façades with dramatic improvements in thermal insulation and U-values.
Over the last 20 years the primary structure of steel and concrete of the building has settled differently as an underground river flows underneath the building. Therefore alternating levels of the individual floors have posed a special challenge. The height levels of the individual areas can partly vary up to about 200 mm. Common fixing brackets, however, can only take up differences of +/- 25 mm. Therefore the fixings had to be adjusted afterwards according to the measured structures. Furthermore, special logistic measures had to be developed, as the building site in the heart of London has got its delivery point in a dead end street. Therefore, delivery of all materials had to be coordinated by means of a supply plan at least one week in advance. As a consequence, the lorries had to arrive on site exactly at the time scheduled for the delivery. The majority of the curtain wall units were extra-wide and could only be delivered to London at certain times during the night. The seven Z frames for the atrium roof façade with a transportation width of over 18 m had to be transported into the city with special flat-bed vehicles.
Unitized aluminium-glass façades forming an elegant building envelope
About 90 % of the outer envelope of the building with a total area of approximately 14,000 sqm is provided with a unitized aluminium-glass façade. The glazing in the lower third is printed with a white stripe pattern. Profiles and sheet panels are in natural anodizing. Striking and recessed sheet areas give the impression of individual protruding bays. The overall U-value of 1.4 W (m²K) for these so-called bay windows could be kept despite the recess. The main façade type A is spanning over a storey height of 3,6 m and of 3,8 m in the upper floors. The individual façade units have been alternately installed with 4,5 m high units and 3 m wide units with spandrel.
The large main entrance areas were executed with steel stick façades with 12 m high mullions and provided with large-scale glass elements with a size of up to 7.5 m x 3 m and a weight of 1.5 t and with glass doors. The roof of the atrium consists of mullions with approx. 12 m long Z frames. Each frame weighs approx. 2.5 t. The 315 sqm roof has been glazed with overhead glazing and on two levels, with vertical glazing.
VSG laminated and ISO solar control glass with Ug-value of 1,0 w/ m²K
The build-up of the glass panes varies as both types of glass were used, VSG laminated and ISO solar control glass. The corners and doors include stepped glass. All glass elements consist of structural silicone glazing. Some façade areas are provided with carrier frames because of the inner cladding panels. Recycling rates are as follows: for glass 85 %, for aluminium 100 %, for aluminium and steel sheets 25 %, for fixings 38 % to 50 % and for the steel façade 80 %.
For the unitized facade, among other glass types there is e.g. double glazing with a laminated safety glass pane achieving a Ug value of 1.0 w/ m²K, with 8mm annealed extra clear glass outside, a 16 mm argon filled cavity and inside with 11,52 mm heat strengthened laminated extra clear glass. The glass panes in the entrance area (maximum dimensions: 2.975 mm x 7.369 mm) are made of double glazing with a Ug-value of 1,0 w/ m²K, 12 mm annealed low iron glass outside, a 16 mm argon filled cavity and 16,76 mm annealed laminated low iron glass outside.
