The Black & White Building is the first project that flexible workspace provider TOG, part of The Office Group, has built from the ground up.
Standing at 17.8m, spanning more than 38,000 sq ft and comprising 28 offices, more than 500 desks, a dedicated yoga studio and event spaces, the building is the tallest mass timber office in central London.
The Office Group president Charlie Green said he hopes that building encourages others to take an innovative, environmental approach to construction.
Working with Waugh Thistleton Architects, TOG expanded and rebuilt the original site that it bought in 2013, incorporating cross-laminated timber and laminated veneer lumber.
Timber was used in “everything above ground”, including the columns, beams, walls and floor slabs.
The workspace operator said these materials are rapidly renewable, highly durable, easily recyclable and less waste-generated than materials like iron, steel and cement.
Targeting a BREEAM Excellent rating and LETI B rating, the Black & White Building reduced embodied emissions by 37% compared with a concrete structure of the same size.
Daytrip Studio was tasked with designing the space with social connectivity, environmentally conscious materials and sustainability principles at its heart. The interior design used recycled materials, with 88% of furniture sourced in the UK.
Features include 94 bike storage spaces, a roof terrace and a ground floor lounge. Users also have access to a dedicated yoga and barre studio.
Enrico Sanna, CEO of The Office Group, said: “Partnering with Waugh Thistleton Architects has brought our aligned sustainability vision to life by developing a building that offers long-term, innovative and sustainable solutions that we see as the blueprint for our future workspaces and hope it encourages others to rethink their construction methods.”
The Black & White Building is the fourteenth of The Office Group’s buildings in the City and Shoreditch area in London. Fora, which merged with TOG last year, also has two offices nearby – Great Eastern Street and Montacute Yards.
Charlie Green, president of The Office Group, said: “Rebuilding The Black & White Building has been our opportunity to show our very real commitment to driving positive change in the industry. It’s about building as responsibly as possible, taking risks and learning as much as we can along the way.
“It’s innovative, but we very much hope that this building encourages others to develop commercial buildings with the environment at the core of their approach to construction.”
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