Edinburgh office scheme slipforming upwards
An under-construction office scheme in Edinburgh is advancing 3metres in height each day as developers use a building technique normally used for skyscrapers.
The new-build, 8-storey office scheme next to the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC) is being constructed using a technique called slipforming which involves wet concrete being poured in to slowly moving shuttering. The system is typically used to construct tall skyscrapers such as the Shard development in London. The technique works on the principle that the concrete has sufficiently dried by the time the shuttering is moved up.
The office building (pictured) adjacent to the EICC is a speculative scheme that will offer 7 floors of office space along with ground floor retail units.
The Grade A offices are being constructed alongside the EICC’s Expansion Space development and comprise in excess of 180,000 sq ft of of floor space. The development is considered to be the only speculative city centre office building in the UK, outside London and the South East, of more than 100,000 sq ft that will be ready for occupation in early 2013.
Planning permission for the scheme, designed by BDP Architects, was granted in February, 2010. The architect of the original EICC building was reportedly unhappy with the design of the new buildings. Architect Sir Terry Farrell said of the scheme: “They are removing its distinctiveness. It is a round shape but they are sticking a big square bit on the side.”
Surrounding buildings are predominately used as offices in an area known as the Exchange District. Nearby office schemes include Edinburgh One, the headquarters of Scottish Widows and Exchange Crescent, a multi let office building. The 3-building Exchange Place scheme is also close by and is a flagship, speculative Edinburgh office scheme, achieving rental prices of around £22 / sq ft.
Joint marketing agents for the EICC office scheme are Jones Lang Lasalle and Montagu Evans.
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