Fletcher Priest Architects’ proposals to significantly overhaul a 1988 Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill office overlooking Exchange Square in Broadgate have been given the initial green light. The City of London has passed a resolution to grant planning, meaning approval in principle subject to legal agreement for the revamp of the Postmodern 175 Bishopsgate, which will become known as One Exchange Square.
The proposed retrofit will retain 90 percent of the original structure while increasing the building’s floor space by around 15 percent. It maintains the existing 13-story height and includes 39,000 square meters of offices and 1,400 square meters of shops.
The team claims the project has a net-zero operational carbon design, featuring 100 percent electric power and an “intelligent façade design” to limit energy use.
The proposals also increase the public realm around the building, which sits next to the recently remodelled 0.6ha Exchange Square park by DSDHA, by approximately 7 percent. They will also double the size of an existing public walkway running beneath the building connecting Bishopsgate to Exchange Square. Fletcher Priest designed the original master plan for the Bishopsgate quadrant of Broadgate and completed recent retrofits at 135 Bishopsgate and 155 Bishopsgate. The new design includes high-quality fresh air accessible on-demand for occupants, a biophilia-filled atrium, and more than 3,000 square meters of external gardens on terraces and balconies for workers.
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