Published on:
02 September 2022
Updated on:
07 September 2022
Read time:
3 minutes
Office Principles North has been appointed to deliver the £3 million refurbishment of a London office building on behalf of Aver, the joint venture between NFU Mutual and Ergo Real Estate.
Wilson’s Corner, a vacant 13,000 sq ft property on 23 Wilson Street EC2, will be transformed into a new and sustainable office development.
Office Principles North will refurbish the entire six storey building, including the ground floor and basement levels, as well as the entrance, signage and roof terrace. Work is expected to be completed by early Q4 2022.
Aver purchased the building last year and has set an ambitious design brief for the refurbishment, with sustainability at its core.
Office Principles North has been tasked with improving the building’s current EPC rating of G to B, using sustainable materials where appropriate. The project will include the installation of a new, fully electric, M+E system that significantly improves the existing office space and boosts the building’s environmental credentials.
The arrival experience at Wilson’s Corner will also be significantly enhanced as part of the scheme, with a new dedicated side entrance to the interconnecting ground and basement level office space on Lackington Street. Visually prominent external signage will be added to the main entrance, with new signage at the side entrance and soft illumination applied to both routes into the building. The overall effect will be one of greater visibility, enhancing the building’s connection with the street.
Bronze powder-coated aluminium fins will be used to form the new balustrading on the front facade, to achieve an Art Deco feel with a contemporary finish. The theme will continue inside the space, with a new podium, wall panelling and a bronze lift in the reception space.
Occupiers will benefit from a new bike store, changing area, lockers, drying cupboards and shower facilities, as well as a fully accessible rooftop, including new covered meeting spaces. An external roof garden will offer panoramic vistas to the north, east and south, and will be formed of new furniture, lighting, glass balustrading, composite decking and tiles. Powder-coated aluminium panels will clad the existing brickwork to the east and west side elevations.
Tina Batham, joint managing director of Office Principles North, said that this was the company’s second project with Ergo following the successful fit out of Great Charles Street in Birmingham, which also overhauled a previously unloved, vacant office space to create a dynamic work setting.
We’re excited to be working with Ergo to reinvigorate an existing building in a fabulous City of London location. We’ve rebranded and redesigned Wilson’s Corner to deliver a markedly different presence at street level, with a greatly improved main entrance and enhanced accessibility. Modern, impressive amenities are a hallmark of Ergo’s office refurbishments and we’re confident that the building’s stunning new roof garden will also prove popular with occupiers when it’s completed later this year.
James Jepson of Ergo Real Estate, said:
Wilson’s Corner will deliver leading, flexible office floor plates in an established submarket. We are proud of the work we are undertaking to rejuvenate this unique building and believe the amenity offering Wilson’s Corner will far exceed what might be expected from a building of this size. We would like to thank the wider team who have worked to reach this milestone and are excited to be delivering Wilson’s Corner into a resurgent occupier market.