BCO_National_Awards_2026_Suplement - Flipbook - Page 34
BCO Awards 2026
REFURBISHED / RECYCLED WORKPLACE
Sponsored by Saint-Gobain UK
Regional Winner
Refurbished / Recycled Workplace
London
76 Southbank
76 Upper Ground, London
T
he refurbishment and
extension of Sir Denys
Lasdun’s 76 Southbank
called for the utmost care.
Sitting next to the National
Theatre, Lasdun’s other
Southbank masterpiece, the
former home of IBM now has
a new role as a sustainable,
300,000 sq ft workplace.
AHMM set out to honour
Lasdun’s design while
transforming the building
for modern occupiers. The
finished scheme brings
together 50,000 sq ft of
riverside terracing, flexible
office floorplates and a
spectacular double-height
entrance lobby. It has attracted
the LEGO Group, PayPal and
flexible office provider Fora.
34 • ESTATES GAZETTE • October 2026
The project retained 80%
of the original concrete
frame, while original precast
granite panels were carefully
replicated for the extension,
respecting the constraints of a
Grade II listed building.
The scheme has also
reshaped 76 Southbank’s
relationship with the
surrounding South Bank.
Where there was once a firstfloor car drop-off, pedestrians
are now prioritised. Together
with the entrance lobby
of otherworldly scale and
outdoor riverside terraces,
this transforms the building’s
relationship with the public
realm. It’s “an exemplary
act of urban stewardship”,
according to the judges,
which produces “a building
of genuine architectural
authority in one of London’s
most culturally significant
settings”.
Fully electric, powered
by air- and water-source
heat pumps and more than
175 photovoltaic panels,
76 Southbank is targeting
BREEAM Outstanding
certification. The judges
concluded that it “reconciles
heritage conservation, net
zero ambition, and the
creation of world-class
office and riverside terrace
space”. Here is proof, they
said, that the best retrofit
architecture can be genuinely
transformative at a scale that
extends beyond the red line.
Client
Wolfe Commercial Properties
(Southbank)
Owner
Wolfe Commercial Properties
(Southbank)
Occupiers
Multi tenanted – PayPal & The
LEGO Group
Quantity Surveyor
Exigere
Architect
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
M&E Engineer
Watkins Payne
Structural Engineer
Heyne Tilett Steel
Contractor
Multiplex
Developer
Stanhope
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