Premier Construction

River Building

River Building
Written by Roma Publications

The River Building

Nestled neatly in the heart of the capital overlooking the River Thames, The River Building is a self-contained office development.

The two storey structure was originally built as part of Cannon Bridge House and bridges the landmark towers of Cannon Street Station. A re-imagining of its design, headed by Stiff + Trevillion, has led to the creation of new, standalone Grade A office accommodation. Alongside the new office space, The River Building is also home to a stunning one acre roof garden that offers breath-taking views of the city.

The two floors previously housed the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (LIFFE) but the design was no longer attractive to a new profile of tenant. Stiff + Trevillion therefore had two tasks. Firstly, establish The River Building as a separate entity from Cannon Bridge House and secondly, create a design aesthetic attractive to a new demographic of tenant. To find out more, Premier Construction spoke to Daniel Campbell, Stiff + Trevillion Director, about the project:

“It was very much about creating a new office which would standalone both in terms of its branding and physically standalone in terms of service provision and so on.

“You enter through one of the original vaulted brick arches and circulate via a dedicated core into the two large floor plates. We’ve exposed voids to the perimeters so you get as much top light down into level one from east and west linear roof lights. Similarly, the central atrium allows light to penetrate into the centre of the office.  In addition, the windows to the southern elevation were replaced and increased in size to maximise daylight and take advantage of the spectacular river views.

“Internally we developed an aesthetic solution that was suitable to this quite unique space. We’ve gone with partially exposed sofits to gain the maximum benefit of the height that was on offer within the building combined with carefully detailed M&E services.”

The River Building was virtually 100% pre-let, attracting tenants not traditionally associated with the city, such as Deliveroo. The building has therefore received a significant amount of industry interest. The positive reception is particularly pleasing for the team behind the project given the numerous challenges the building posed. Daniel explained:

“The challenges undoubtedly were the nature of the existing building. You’re working within an original bridge structure that is a network rail asset, you’re working over a live railway station and you have to design around a building where all the vertical cores and service penetrations are fixed elements. Things like replacing glazing when you’ve got a live station beneath you are very challenging.

“The original envelope of the building was both a challenge and a key design driver which ultimately added uniqueness and character to the space.

“There were also significant inherent opportunities.  Above the office is an acre of roof garden overlooking the river and with panoramic views of London. We’ve made sure that all the floors have maximum benefit and access to the roof.”

In addition to the roof garden, The River Building is also home to an on-site barista, 14 showers, 120 bike spaces and lockers and 69 car parking spaces. It also boasts a ‘Very Good’ BREEAM rating.

Stiff + Trevillion is one of the UK’s leading architectural practices. Alongside The River Building, the practice has worked on a number of award-winning projects. To find out more, please visit www.stiffandtrevillion.com.

River Building

OAG Limited

OAG Limited specialise in the design, supply and installation of architectural and structural glass solutions.

OAG has worked on a number of prestigious London projects including London Bridge Station, the Canary Wharf Crossrail Station and The Tate Modern. OAG were recently involved with a number of elements of the refurbishment of the River Building.

OAG approached this project with tenacity & innovation aiding Stiff & Trevillion to achieve their design intent. The Cousins Lane main entrance screen, for example, was formed from bespoke steel mullion and transom sections with DGU’s toggle glazed into the system. There is both a revolving door and disabled pass door. OAG was also responsible for bespoke roof lights to roof garden.

Gary Evans, Director from OAG, said:

“It is excellent to be working on another Blackstone development that showcases OAG’s glazing capabilities. A project of this calibre allows us to display our skills in both external and internal structural glazing, creating eye catching glass expanses with minimal visible framing. We hope all inhabitants of The River Building can enjoy our work for years to come.”

He added:

“We pride ourselves in providing innovative, striking glass solutions over and above any other bespoke glaziers. Quality is at the forefront of every OAG project regularly finishing to BREEAM and SKA standards. Our design led collaborative approach allows us to provide inventive methodological and logistical solutions for all of our clients to achieve a shared goal.”

River Building

About the author

Roma Publications