Endurance Land has secured a resolution to grant planning permission from the London Borough of Islington for the retrofit and extension of the 99 City Road office building near London’s Old Street Junction.
The building, which was built in the 1990s, will provide 64,873 sq m (circa 698,000 sq ft) in a 35-storey tower designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates.
The majority of the existing building’s structure will be retained, including the foundations and basement, and Endurance Land is taking a ‘retain-first’ approach to the development. A new core will be inserted and additional floors added to create a hybrid old/new structure.
The developer is targeting BREEAM Outstanding, NABERS 5*, WELL Core Platinum and embodied carbon <600kg/CO2/m2 for the scheme, which will offer 4,320 sq m (circa 46,500 sq ft) of dedicated affordable workspace, a community makerspace and exhibition space.
Jonathan Fletcher, CEO of Endurance Land, said: “The redevelopment will deliver a landmark, net zero scheme that’s tailored to Islington and Old Street, drastically improve the building’s sustainability credentials, offer generous community benefits, and unlock the potential of the site. It’s an incredible achievement to design a tower of this calibre. We are delighted to have been granted a resolution for planning approval. Our congratulations to the entire project team. We would also like to thank Islington Council and the planning officers for their close collaboration throughout the entire planning process.”
John Bushell, principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, added: “From the earliest stages of the design process we were looking for the best way to retain as much of the existing structure as possible, to improve the public realm, and to create a landmark building for London’s Tech City on this important site. The project delivers much-needed office space to suit different occupiers’ budgets, alongside many benefits to the wider community. The committee’s decision reflects the collaborative achievement of the whole team and we’re incredibly pleased with the outcome.”
Elie Gamburg, principal at Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, said: “The design for 99 City Road transforms an unattractive building, and almost triples the public realm at a key London location. Our design’s innovative approach to ‘folding’ as a formal concept responds to the site’s diverse contexts at multiple scales, and elegant structural solutions achieve ambitious embodied carbon targets. A careful emphasis has been placed on detail and material craft to create a building that is sensitively-scaled with an appearance that changes with peoples viewing position.”
The project team includes Avison Young, DP9, Publica, AKTII, Atelier Ten, Kanda, Twin & Earth, Steer, Montagu Evans, Arcadis and FMDC.
