Property developer Ballymore has submitted a planning application for a 13-storey office building at the heart of Embassy Gardens
The 13-storey office building will provide 217,000 sq ft of flexible, contemporary space in Embassy Gardens, Nine Elms. Designed by Morris+Company, the building will also deliver 18,000 sq ft of outdoor amenity space, including a communal terrace and several private open-air terraces. The plans also propose over 5,000 sq ft of ground-floor retail/restaurant space.
The proposed building, named ‘EG:HQ’, will encourage outdoor working, events and socialising with six large terraces equipped with views of the River Thames. The proposed layout will maximise space and natural light and will allow for expansive views from every desk in the building. These desks will overlook Embassy Gardens new linear park.
The new occupiers will count the new US Embassy, Penguin Random House and publisher DK as neighbours, who will move into One Embassy Gardens in 2020.
A proposed new footbridge will boost connectivity to the transforming area along with two new passenger piers.
John Mulryan, group managing director at Ballymore, commented: “Nine Elms is fast establishing itself as a competitive commercial quarter, thanks to the likes of Apple at Battersea, and Penguin Random House and the US Embassy at Embassy Gardens.
“We know that in order to attract the best talent, companies need to provide high-quality office space that supports wellbeing, creativity, and ultimately productivity. EG:HQ is the answer to that, in riverside zone one, just a stone’s throw from Westminster.”
Joe Morris, founding director of Morris+Company, added: “Our interest in the longer life of a building – how it is loved, lived and worked in – presents us with a very particular challenge when we are commissioned to create a new workplace.
“Office design is evolving as the expectations of the end-user develop and Ballymore set an ambitious brief to create a building which promotes health and wellbeing and is equipped for future workplace trends. This is realised through a number of means including a significant number of terraces and roof gardens allowing for contemplation, collaboration, or concentration – depending on their scale and location, and in maximising the cycle store and associated facilities and ensuring all end users have access to abundant natural light and desks with views.”
If approved, construction is estimated to start early 2020, with the office building at Embassy Gardens anticipated to be completed in early 2022.
