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Waugh Thistleton completes CLT flexible workspace for British Land’s Storey

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Key Features of 6 Orsman Road

This project focuses on a sustainable and flexible workspace building at 6 Orsman Road, London, designed by Waugh Thistleton Architects for British Land's Storey. The building utilizes a hybrid structure combining cross-laminated timber (CLT) and steel, reducing the need for interior columns and maximizing space (over 3,100m²).

The design emphasizes sustainability, featuring fully-glazed curtain walling on the north side for maximum daylight and deep ribbon windows on the south to minimize solar gain. Internal finishes use simple materials like clay plaster and linoleum, with repurposed CLT offcuts used for furniture.

Sustainability and Adaptability

The architects highlight the building's adaptability as a key element of its sustainability. The flexible layout, with only two columns per space and no internal support walls, allows for easy alterations to suit changing business needs. The timber structure contributes significantly to this flexibility.

Easy Modifications: CLT panels are easily removed for reconfigurations and mezzanine levels.
Recyclability: The design prioritizes recyclability and reusability of building components for future repurposing. Components are bolted rather than welded.
Reduced Environmental Impact: Off-site prefabrication minimized construction disruption. Using timber lowered the carbon footprint.

The building also boasts impressive environmental performance data, including on-site renewable energy generation (PVs and air source heat pump), low water consumption, and a low overall U-value.

Client's Perspective (Storey British Land)

Storey emphasizes the building's focus on productivity and well-being. The design incorporates features like:

Acoustic Guidelines: Designed with the help of acousticians, offering spaces for different activity levels.
Private and Shared Terraces: Roof terraces offer panoramic views and versatile workspaces.
Amenities: Ample cycling and shower facilities.

The building caters to businesses with 20+ employees and offers flexible lease lengths, office sizes, layouts, and a suite of services.

The building at 6 Orsman Road for British Land's flexible workspace arm, Storey, has a hybrid structure which combines CLT and steel to reduce the number of interior columns required, providing over 3,100m² of space.

Due to the restricted tight site at the edge of the canal in Haggerston, a system exploiting the structural properties of each material was designed to facilitate precise construction.

The building steps up over six storeys, creating viewpoints down Orsman Road. Large terraces overlook the canal to the north and the City to the south.

Responding to the site’s orientation, fully-glazed curtain walling to the northern façade maximises daylighting while, on the southern façade, deep ribbon windows among panelised cladding minimise solar gain.

Using an internal superstructure of steel I-section columns and cellular beams, the building’s core and floor slabs are made of prefabricated CLT panels, left exposed. In some areas, materials such as clay plaster and linoleum have been used as simple finishes with offcuts from the CLT structure repurposed as furniture.

Architect's view

6 Orsman Road has been designed to be a sustainable building in the true meaning of the word. Sustainable architecture should be able to withstand change and be adapted to suit varying requirements. By designing the building with a completely adaptable layout that can accommodate a diversity of uses and occupiers, we ensure its longevity, which is ultimately better for the environment.

Each floor has only two columns per space and no internal support walls, which means users are able to easily alter the layouts to suit their needs and business growth. The timber structure plays a key role in this flexibility. Timber is lightweight and easy to work with. The CLT panels can be easily removed to allow connections between floors and the possibility of creating mezzanine levels.

We also wanted to the treat the building as a recyclable product, and designed it to be dismantled, re-used and recycled in the future. Considering the end of life of the building and challenging ourselves to push towards zero waste construction, we have designed a building that can ultimately be demounted. Every element of the construction has been considered to ensure as much as possible can be reused or recycled once the building reaches the end of its useful life. The structure is bolted together and applied elements such as cladding, timber decking, steel balustrades, modular partitions can be detached and re-used.

The building uses prefabricated structural elements such as cross-laminated timber panels, SIP panels and steel beams and columns. Manufactured offsite this approach minimised the impact of the build on the neighbourhood, reducing deliveries, noise and disruption. Using timber construction further reduces the buildings’ carbon footprint: harvested timber is a replenishable material that absorbs and sequesters carbon dioxide as it grows, becoming a carbon store.

Andrew Waugh and Anthony Thistleton, directors, Waugh Thistleton Architects

Client's view

6 Orsman Road is Storey’s latest building located on the banks of Regent’s Canal in the creative hub of Haggerston. The sustainably-focused office building comprises 3,160 m2 across five floors and has been designed to enhance productivity. The building champions the use of sustainable materials and has been built using an innovative hybrid structure which combines cross laminated timber (CLT) and steel, meaning that the whole building can ultimately be demounted and repurposed.

Storey is British Land’s solution to flexible private workspace; flexible in terms of lease length, size of office, layout and design, and a suite of all-inclusive services. This nimble approach allows customers to create an office that is truly designed and built around their company’s needs. 6 Orsman Road has been designed to cater for businesses with 20+ employees and customers will benefit from Storey’s focus on private space and the ‘Storey spine system’, which offers a unique sustainable and reconfigurable office model, enabling workspaces to easily adapt to changing office requirements.

Everything at 6 Orsman Road, from the exposed timber to the waterside setting, has been designed to make customers feel calm, focused and inspired. Storey worked with leading acousticians Sandy Brown to develop acoustics guidelines for the office to ensure that there were a range of spaces where productivity would not be impacted by bustle and noise; the timber surfaces and panels within the building have a special acoustic benefit, absorbing sound and so improving comfort. Other areas within the building have been created for noisier and more collaborative work, such as the lounge and the café, ensuring activities at different noise levels happen in different spaces.

Customers of 6 Orsman Road will be able to enjoy a range of onsite amenities, including private and shared rooftop terraces with panoramic views over London. The spacious terraces have been specifically designed to allow multiple working styles through the use of outdoor shading, providing a range of spaces to suit everyone’s needs. Additional amenities will include generous cycling and shower facilities.

Storey British Land

Project data

Start on site December 2017 Completion June 2020 Gross internal floor area 4,678m² Gross (internal + external) floor area 5,085m² Form of contract Construction Management; Design and build (fit-out) Construction cost Undisclosed Architect Waugh Thistleton Architects Client Boultbee Brooks Real Estate; Storey British Land (fit-out) Structural engineer GDC Partnership & Engenuiti; Ramboll (fit-out) M&E consultant Mendick Waring; Ramboll (fit-out) QS RFM Construction Management; Alinea (fit-out) Signage Studio Frith Planning consultant DP9 and Maddox Associates Fire engineer International Fire Consultants; OFR Consultants (fit-out) Landscape consultant FFLO Acoustic consultant Sandy Brown (fit-out) Project manager Stace (fit-out) CDM coordinator Stace (fit-out) Approved building inspector Salus; MLM (fit-out) Main contractor RFM Construction Management; Parkeray (fit-out) CAD software used Vectorworks, ArchiCAD

Environmental performance data

On-site energy generation 14.3% On-site renewable energy generation 10.5% (from PVs), 3.8% (from air source heat pump) Annual mains water consumption 5.47 m³/occupant/year Airtightness at 50Pa 6.1 m³/h.m² Heating and hot water load 4.4 kWh/m²/yr Overall area-weighted U-value 0.19 w/m²K (external wall only) Design life 60 Years Embodied/whole-life carbon 582 KgCO2eq/m² Annual CO2 emissions 14.6 kgCO2eq/m²