Lloyd’s Register of Shipping Building

Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners, London, 2001

 

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Stair and lift towers 

Dennis Gilbert/VIEW and Katsuhisa Kida (website)     Download Original

  • Stair and lift towers    
  • Colour - blue for the main structure, yellow for the stairs and red for lifts - is used to counterpoise the clear glazing    
  • The Fenchurch Street entrance    
  • Exterior at night    
  • Aerial view    
  • The City refused consent to demolish the 1920s Black Sea and Baltic House which sits at the corner of Fenchurch Place and Fenchurch Street    
  • External louvres shade the east and west facades in strong sunlight. For 90 per cent of the time the louvres stay open, but their perforations allow views out even when they are shut    
  • The extraordinary transparency of the development is particularly apparent at night    
  • The former churchyard has been attractively and unfussily landscaped    
  • Chilled beams give a strong character to the workplace, dispelling the depressing blandness induced by suspended ceilings    
  • Naturally ventilated glazed atria act as climatic buffers, mediating between the external climate and that of the offices    
  • View across atrium    
  • The all-glass lift cars at the front of the building offer a spectacular ride. The Fenchurch Street entrance is shown on the left    
  • The Fenchurch Street entrance    
  • A stepped ramp to the new link gallery resolves the change in levels    
  • Site plan    
  • Lower ground floor plan    
  • Ground floor plan    
  • First floor plan    
  • Fourth floor plan    
  • Fifth floor plan    
  • Eighth floor plan    
  • Ninth floor plan    
  • Twelfth floor plan    
  • Section AA    
  • Section BB    
  • Section CC    
  • Vault and concrete details    
  • Detail section through vault and facade    

Fourteen-storey office facilities combined with existing Grade II listed façade and interiors focused around a central atrium

Set within a conservation area, access to Lloyd's Register is through a landscaped churchyard. The site is largely surrounded by existing buildings, including Grade II listed 71 Fenchurch St, which has been incorporated into the new headquarters and extensively restored.

The floor plates of the new building, comprising fourteen stories of office space and two basements, taper in response to the awkward geometry of the site to create a fan-shaped grid composed of vaults formed around two dramatic atria. This design allows daylight penetration and provides thermal buffers between the offices and the external environment.

The service cores are expressed as towers - two primary circulation cores face the churchyard, while secondary cores to the rear house toilets, good lifts and staircases, as well as main services risers.

The glazed façade is designed to maximise daylight while limiting solar heat gains in summer and heat losses in winter. In addition to double glazing, the east and west facades feature panels of motorised louvres which automatically control solar energy ingress.

Data

  • Begun: Dec 1997
  • Completed: Mar 2001
  • Floor area: 3,400m2
  • Sector: Office
  • Total cost: £70M
  • Funding: Private
  • Procurement: Bespoke contract based on JCT 80 with contractor’s elements
  • Address: 71 Fenchurch Street, London, EC3M 4BS, United Kingdom

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