Mace has scooped a major project to revamp London’s former City Hall.
The planned revamp to the Greater London Authority’s (GLA) former headquarters will result in new office space, plus retail and restaurant space on the ground floor and new public realm space surrounding the site.
Construction News understands Mace was appointed on the project under a preconstruction services agreement (PCSA). A spokesperson for Mace declined to comment on the story.
Morrisroe Demolition has been appointed to strip the façade of the former City Hall, carry out enabling works in the basement, and remove materials from site.
It will also install reinforced concrete piled foundations, drainage and waterproofing before handing over the stabilised structure to Mace.
The project – reportedly valued at £150m – is set to generate around 1,000 new jobs, according to the construction scheme’s website.
Internal office space will grow from 9,899 square metres to 10,530 square metres, while flexible commercial space will expand sharply from 61 square metres to 2,436 square metres.
Across the building, this amounts to a gain of 3,006 square metres net internal area.
The lower ground floor, previously used as offices, will be reconfigured to provide 3,380 square metres of flexible commercial floorspace, including a market hall layout with food and retail provision, supported by new lifts to address accessibility shortcomings in the existing ramp.
The scheme also replaces a garage structure with 257 square metres of new landscaped public realm. Urban greening will increase by 104 per cent, while cycle parking will rise from 72 to 435 spaces.
Design changes include reinterpreting the distinctive Foster + Partners diagrid with new banding and planting, together with soft landscaping.
Plant enclosures and facade modifications will be introduced to improve energy performance, targeting an EPC upgrade from D to B, BREEAM Excellent certification, and net-zero carbon operation.
Southwark Council gave the project the green light last December and enabling works began in August, according to the developer St Martins. Construction work is set to start in February next year.
The site has been empty for nearly four years since Mayor of London Sadiq Khan moved the GLA’s offices to the Royal Docks. Once completed, the site will be known as 110 The Queen’s Walk.
On its website, St Martins said the scheme will “retain the distinctive character of the original building while significantly enhancing its sustainability, functionality, and public realm”.
By “refining” the structural design, St Martins said it would use 27 per cent less steel compared with an earlier version of the scheme it had drawn up. That is equivalent to saving 812 tonnes of carbon dioxide, it added.
Design firm Gensler, project manager B&CO and engineers from Waterman are all involved in the scheme.
The project to revamp City Hall is the latest in a number of high-profile jobs scooped by Mace in the capital.
Last month, it was named construction manager on a £1.1bn job to redevelop the British Library, and scooped a project to build a new 30-storey tower in the City of London.