Silk Street plans revised following more than 1,000 objections
Lipton Rogers has approached several major contractors about its SOM-designed 1 Silk Street scheme next to the Barbican in the City of London.
Building understands the developer has been in discussions with Bovis, Mace, Sir Robert McAlpine and Multiplex over pricing the project, which is expected to have a construction cost of around £500m.
The scheme was finally approved this spring, with Lipton Rogers understood to have spoken to the four firms about delivering the work over the past few months.
The project is expected to be let under a two-stage contract, initially operating as a construction management project before moving to a fixed-price arrangement.
Lipton Rogers is currently working through its section 106 agreements, but tenders are expected to be issued before the end of the year, with a contractor anticipated to be appointed by next spring.
Erith is already on site carrying out strip-out work, with other members of the project team including T&T Alinea on costs, Arup on MEP, DP9 on planning, Donald Insall Associates on heritage, Montagu Evans on townscape and Kanda on public consultation.
Lipton Rogers was required to amend its plans, which involve replacing the London headquarters of law firm Linklaters with two office towers, after more than 1,000 people objected to the scheme’s original planning application submitted last summer. Among those opposing the proposals were prominent architects including Stirling Prize-winner Amanda Levete and Caruso St John co-founder Adam Caruso.
The original plans proposed two 20-storey towers replacing the existing 1980s block. These were subsequently revised to one 20-storey tower and a second 16-storey tower, reducing the total office space from 91,000sq m to 86,000sq m.
Lipton Rogers and its development partner LaSalle Investment Management said the amendments had “respond[ed] directly to feedback received during the consultation process while reinforcing the project’s core vision”.
Further design changes include obscured glass panels on sections of the facade to reduce views into neighbouring properties, fins on the exterior to redirect sightlines and automatic blinds that close at dusk to reduce light pollution. More than 300m of new active retail frontage has also been incorporated into the ground-floor levels of the scheme.
Alongside retail space, the plans provide new cultural and community facilities as well as improvements to the public realm. These include a new public plaza opposite the entrance to the Barbican Centre and better pedestrian links through the site.
Earlier this year, Linklaters relocated to its new headquarters at 20 Ropemaker, the 25-storey building near Moorgate designed by Make and constructed by Skanska. The building was being fitted out by ISG before the contractor collapsed, with the interior work subsequently taken on by Structure Tone.
