Plans Approved to Retrofit Barbican Office Block

3/10/24

Plans have been approved to transform 45 Beech St, a 1950s office building on the edge of the Barbican Estate, into 174 co-living homes, with improved public realm, have been approved at Planning Committee.

The project, known as Cornerstone, is being developed by HUB, in partnership with sustainable and impact investor Bridges Fund Management. The development will introduce a new type of community-focussed housing to this part of the City, while also delivering significant embodied carbon savings.

Strategically located adjacent to the iconic 1950s Barbican Estate, Cornerstone will deliver new co-living homes, state-of-the-art amenities and improved public realm. Designed by Stirling Prize-winning practice Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM), the project will transform disused office space at the end of its life into much needed homes for City workers.

Located at the centre of the City's largest residential area, the scheme will be more in keeping with the surrounding area and contribute to its revitalisation and activation, while benefiting from existing transport connectivity. Townscape improvements will include enhanced public realm with additional greenery, and ground floor amenities such as a café and co-working space that will be open to the existing local community.

In alignment with HUB and Bridges' mutual commitment to reducing carbon emissions, the retrofit scheme utilises as much of the existing building as possible. This approach is projected to achieve a 34 per cent reduction in total embodied carbon compared to a new build of equivalent scale. Additionally, the scheme will significantly improve the energy performance of the building, and targets industry-leading sustainability standards, including BREEAM Excellent and EPC A.

Community and neighbourhood stakeholders were actively engaged in the consultation process through a series of targeted workshops and events. This included the local business community and Barbican residents.

Source: Hub | Cornerstone, Beech St (hubliving.com)