Green light for Victoria office scheme which will reuse more than half of existing building

TP Bennett’s plans to repurpose a 1970s office building near Victoria Station in London have been given the green light by members of Westminster City Council’s planning committee.

The practice’s proposals for clients Landid and Elwood Fund Management will strip back the current structure at Gillingham Street – which was originally a cash depository – and deliver eight floors of flexible office space, four roof terraces and a ground-floor café. There will also be a publicly-accessible pocket park.

The project will deliver more than 9,500 sq m of office space – an 80% uplift on the building’s current offer. It will retain 60% of Gillingham House’s current structure area and 70% of its structure volume with the introduction of a lightweight frame and fully new brick façades that include shading elements to reduce heat gain and minimise operational energy use.

The redevelopment is targeting a BREEAM “excellent” rating.

The basement levels of Gillingham House will have 150 cycle-parking spaces, along with changing rooms and showers.

Others working on the scheme include project manager and QS RLB, structures consultant Stantec and services engineer Atelier Ten.