Size
13,000 sq ft
Location
London
Activity
Property & Coworking
Duration
30 weeks
How can you make sure your building stands out in a crowded marketplace?
We’ve worked with Aver Property to transform a building with an identity crisis into a modern, sustainable workplace destination in East Central London.
23 Wilson Street has been reinvented as Wilson’s Corner.
It’s a six-storey building that delivers on every level, from a statement arrival experience to a stunning roof terrace. And with a new, fully electric, M&E system, it’s also a substantially more energy efficient one too.
Aver is a joint venture between NFU Mutual and Ergo Real Estate.
The partnership is investing in the region of £300 million in value-add and opportunistic acquisitions of commercial property assets. It targets investments in the London conurbation, the south east of England and other major UK conurbations.
Overview
Aver purchased 23 Wilson Street in 2022, with vacant possession.
It successfully applied for planning consent to upgrade the property, setting a vision for a revitalised office building with a new entrance, signage and roof terrace.
Sustainability was at the heart of the office refresh, with a brief to use environmentally responsible materials and improve the building’s EPC rating from a G to a B.
Delivering such a significant project within a complex building would present several challenges, not least in stripping back and fitting out six floors, including one to CAT A plus standards.
We would need to manage local applications for crane access to deliver a partial demolition and removal of existing plant works and create space for a rooftop garden.
As there was no external space, everything we would need to deliver to site would need to be managed on site.
And we would also need to keep everyone safe, not just during the works, but through devising a long-term solution for the safe evacuation of occupants from the top floor.
Project completion
Our complete refurbishment of the building has created Wilson’s Corner, 13,000 sq ft of modern, flexible CAT A office space, comprising six storeys plus ground floor and basement levels, with CAT A plus facilities on the fourth floor.
Externally, we have rebranded the building and installed more visually prominent signage and soft illumination at its main entrance. A new dedicated side entrance has been created to the interconnecting ground and basement level office space on Lackington Street.
The overall effect is greater visibility, enhancing the building’s connection with the street.
Bronze powder-coated aluminium fins form new balustrading at the building’s front facade, replacing the existing stainless steel for a more contemporary finish. The use of bronze continues the Art Deco feel inside the newly configured reception area, which features a new podium, wall panelling and a bronze lift.
The fit out includes a new spiral staircase which connects the ground and lower ground floors, enabling the space to be let separately or as a single, standalone unit.
Superloos have been installed on each level and we’ve also refurbished DDA toilets to give compliance to the space.
There’s also a range of additional amenities for occupants, including cyclist access to a new bike store, changing area, lockers, drying cupboards and shower facilities.
The most impressive amenity of all is a new and fully accessible rooftop area that delivers covered meeting spaces and an external roof garden, featuring contemporary furniture and lighting, glass balustrading, composite decking and tiles to create an oasis of calm for tenants to enjoy.
We employed specialist building control advice to deliver a safe evacuation process from the new roof space. By opening up an existing concrete floor, we’ve been able to extend the lift shaft from the basement to the rooftop, turning the existing stairwell into a fireshaft and adding necessary partitions and automated vents and fire doors.
With panoramic vistas to the north, east and south back to the city cluster, it adds a significant new feature to a building that truly exceeds expectations.
We’re thrilled to have designed and delivered the transformation of Wilson’s Corner. This is a modern, accessible and sustainable office development, which delivers a statement arrival experience and a series of impressive amenities throughout. “We have stripped and fit out six floors of the building to CAT A standard and added CAT A plus facilities to the fourth floor which will enable prospective tenants to plug-and-play. While reconfiguring the existing plant facilities and has created space for the building’s stunning new roof garden, which offers a sophisticated breakout and entertainment space.