A VIDEO has been released showing the devastating effects of an arson attack on council offices last month.
The offices of South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse district councils in Crowmarsh Gifford were ravaged by a fire, believed to have been started deliberately, on January 15th.
But just three weeks on, the councils say it’s nearly “back to business as usual” with staff working from temporary offices and from home.
Cllr John Cotton, leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “The fact that we were up and running so soon is a result of good business continuity planning mixed with some ingenuity and improvisation. As much as anything else though, it’s down to some serious hard work from our staff who have pulled together and risen to the challenge brilliantly. There’s a long way to go yet, but I’m very happy that the majority of our residents will barely have noticed a blip in the services we’re providing.”
Cllr Matthew Barber, leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We’re really grateful to everybody for their offers of support and practical help, as well as to people for being patient with for the week or so that some of our services were delayed. Thankfully we’ve managed to keep any disruption to a minimum. The most important thing is that nobody with an urgent problem has been made to wait a minute longer than they should.”
The councils are expecting to use temporary office locations for “two or three” years and the fate of the Crowmarsh offices is “undecided”.
ENGLISH Heritage has chosen fourteen of the finest post-war office buildings in England to receive Listed Building status.
The selected offices span the length and breadth of England and were listed by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport after being recommended by English Heritage.
Heritage Minister, Ed Vaizey, said: “Listed buildings are not just about historic houses and ancient monuments, they also serve to protect our recent heritage and preserve the best examples of our fantastic architecture. This group of listings reflect the changing face of our working environment and represent the very best in design and it’s entirely right that they be listed Grade II.”
Roger Bowdler, Director of Designation at English Heritage, said: “The clearer we can be about what deserves to be listed, the better for all. These offices show how architecture has adapted to recent radical changes in how we work: they show how the open-plan working space for computer-led work came about, and how architects responded to the need for lettable, attractive spaces with ingenuity and a deep understanding of human needs. Our project has aimed to deliver certainty for owners, while adding to the range of those key buildings which are protected by law. These are all remarkable designs, capable of years of commercially vibrant use. The project has been notable for its extensive research, and for close dialogue with owners.”
Newly listed office buildings
Brown Shipley, Moorgate, City of London, Fitzroy Robinson & Partners, 1973-5
30 Cannon Street (formerly Credit Lyonnais), London, Whinney, Son & Austen Hall, 1974-7
1 Finsbury Avenue, City of London, Arup Associates’ Group 2 led by Peter Foggo, 1982-4
Civil Aviation Authority House, (formerly Space House), Kingsway, Camden London, George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners, 1964-8
Mountbatten House (formerly Gateway House), Basingstoke, Arup Associates’ Group 2 led by Peter Foggo, 1974-76. The roof gardens at Mountbatten House have also been added to the Register of Parks and Gardens at Grade II
IBM Pilot Head Office, Cosham, Foster Associates, 1970-71
Gun Wharf (built as administrative headquarters for Lloyds of London, now civic headquarters for Medway Council), Chatham, Kent, Arup Associates, 1976-8
Former office of Ryder and Yates, Killingworth, Newcastle, Ryder and Yates, 1964-5
MEA House, Newcastle upon Tyne, Ryder and Yates, 1972-4
Bank House, King Street, Leeds, Building Design Partnership, 1969-71
Former Midland Bank, Dale Street, Liverpool, Raymond Fletcher of Bradshaw, Rowse & Harker, 1971
St James’s House, Frederick Street, Birmingham, John Madin, 1954-7
Alpha Tower, Birmingham, George Marsh of Richard Seifert & Partners, 1970-2
Former Central Electricity Generating Board Building (The Pavilions), Bristol, Arup Associates, 1975-8
A PLANNING application has been submitted to the City of London Corporation for the refurbishment and extension of an office building in Liverpool Street.
100 Liverpool Street, which sits at the corner of the large Broadgate office campus, would get a new facade and three additional storeys to create a building offering 515,000 sq ft of office and retail space.
The planning proposal by developer British Land arrived with local planners just before Christmas and would also see a new restaurant on the ninth floor.
Tim Roberts, Head of Offices, British Land, said: “We have put forward a proposal for an innovative refurbishment of 100 Liverpool Street which we believe will appeal to a wide range of occupiers. This is an important part of our broader plan to re-position Broadgate to meet the changing needs of a growing and dynamic market place. The demands on this area of the City are changing with the regeneration of nearby Shoreditch and we are focused on evolving the Broadgate campus to match these needs.”
The developer has also just announced a 65,000 sq ft office deal with collaborative coworking space provider WeWork in 199 Bishopsgate which takes the entire Broadgate office estate to total occupancy.
A NEW “Sky Garden” has opened at the top of the new Walkie Talkie skyscraper in the City of London.
The space at the top of 20 Fenchurch Street, as its officially known, contains restaurants, bars and an indoor “garden”.
It can also be visited for free by members of the public who book online, although available slots have quick been snapped up.
The Lord Mayor of the City of London, Alan Yarrow, was present for the official opening ceremony which also marked the completion of the building. The 34-storey skyscraper contains 668,926 square feet of office space.
The striking addition to the City skyline hit the headlines last year when sun light was bouncing off of it and “melting” objects in the street below.
Social media users have been quick to share their photos from inside the Sky Garden.
SOCIAL network giant Facebook is reported to be developing a new version of the site to be used in workplaces.
“Facebook at work” will apparently offer a mix of business networking and workplace collaboration tools which pitch it against established platforms such as LinkedIn, Yammer, Slack and Google Docs.
While Facebook haven’t publicly commented on the project, the Financial Times has reported that the system is in development and will allow users to create groups, chat and share projects and files.
Facebook, founded by Mark Zuckerberg, has over 1.3 billion registered users although many workplaces don’t allow the site, and other social networks, to be accessed through corporate networks.
ONE of the City of London’s most iconic and recognisable buildings has been sold to the Brazilian investment giant, Safra group.
The acquisition of the Gherkin skyscraper by banker Joseph Safra’s company comes several months after the building at 30 St Mary Axe went in to administration.
Although a sale price has not been disclosed, reports say that Safra paid over £700million for the property which was designed by Lord Foster and celebrated its tenth birthday this year.
A statement from Safra said:
“The acquisition of 30 St Mary Axe is consistent with our real estate strategy of investing in properties that are truly special – at the best locations within great cities.
“While only 10 years old, this building is already a London icon that is distinguished from others in the market, with excellent value growth potential.”
AN INVESTIGATION has been launched after it was revealed that two bolts have falled off the Leadenhall Building in the City of London.
One of the two bolts which became dislodged fell to the ground while another fell inside the building.
A statement from British Land, who are joint developers on the project with Oxford Properties, says that the structural integrity of the building is not affected and that the “design of the structure allows for isolated events of this type.”
An area around the base of the building at 122 Leadenhall Street has been cordoned off while a full investigation is conducted by contractor Laing O’Rourke and structural engineers Arup.
The under-construction skyscraper, known as the Cheesegrater because of its distinctive angled shape, is 224 metres tall and has pre-let space to tenants such as AON and Amlin plc.
THE LEADER of the UK Independence Party has been fined after not declaring the free use of office space.
MEP Nigel Farage was given the £200 fine after he didn’t disclose to the Electoral Commission the donation in-kind of office space.
A probe by the Electoral Commission has determined that the use of the 625 sq ft office near Littlehampton, West Sussex, had been worth £3,500, rising to £3,800, per annum since Mr Farage started using it in 2001.
The commission did find, however, that the donations had been declared correctly to the European Parliament and that there had been no intent to hide the donations.
Under the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 all non-cash donations of more than £1,500 that are made to individual regulated donees, must be reported to the Commission.
FRENCH bank Societe Generale will move in to a brand new office building in Canary Wharf in 2019.
The pre-let of 280,000 sq ft of office space in 1 Bank Street was announced today by developers, Canary Wharf Group.
The deal represents 40 percent of the 700,000 sq ft, 26 story office building which construction started on earlier this year, with the banking giant occupying space from the ground floor to the seventh level.
Sir George Iacobescu CBE, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Canary Wharf Group plc said:
“We are pleased to welcome Societe Generale, one of the most important European institutions, and to be able to provide them with a technologically advanced building which responds to their new requirements. This pre let demonstrates the enduring attraction of our high quality office space and infrastructure to a broad range of world class organisations. Societe Generale will join over 105,000 people already working at Canary Wharf with companies providing a range of services in diverse sectors.”
The finished building provides 89,000sqft of office space over three floors, 174 parking places, a central landscaped courtyard and extensive gardens in the heart of town.
Strata was Designed by ESA – part of Capita – on behalf of LaSalle Investment Management and Bell Hammer. A spokesman for Bell Hammer commented, “Without wishing to appear immodest, I think Strata is the best office development seen in the Thames Valley for a long time.”
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