Hong Kong developer Chinese Estates Holdings plans to rejuvenate the listed former Daily Express newspaper headquarters and build new stepped 21-storey office building at the site of the adjacent River Court building.
ISG and Mace are understood to be in the race for the 600,000 sq ft flagship build project, which will start construction next summer when demolition is complete.
The design of the 120 Fleet Street redevelopment is to be known as the Evergo Tower.
To achieve the ultimate goal of being carbon neutral, over half (52%) of the existing building’s concrete structure is being retained by reusing most of the existing foundation and basement retaining walls.
London Diamond Drilling has secured the job to drill 800mm diameter holes up to 4m deep for pilling rigs when they start reinforcing existing foundations.
The new scheme designed by architect Bjarke Ingels Group ticks all the planning boxes for green space, public access and improved post-pandemic office environments for workers.
The mid and upper floors of the main new office building will provide a flight of south-facing landscaped terraces for office occupiers.
While the art deco Daily Express building beside will be transformed into a publicly accessible cultural destination with social and educational outreach.
It will become home to a free publicly accessible landscaped public roof garden.
The carbon emissions of the new Grade-A commercial development will only be around 25% of the office building it replaces, with reduced energy consumption targeted at 46 kilowatts per square meter per year.
Targeting to meet the high demands of international top-tier commercial occupiers, the property will seek to achieve the highest certifications of major international ratings, including BREEAM (Outstanding), WELL (Platinum), NABERS (5-Star) , and WiredScore (Platinum).
The project also involves an innovative ‘Cycle House’ with 85 short stay and 149 long stay cycle parks and a café.
New public terrace above the express building