CMA Planning
Where: 244-254 Cambridge Heath Road, E2
Who For: Ethical Property
What: 7049 sqm commercial floorspace
Architect: Waugh Thistleton
This environmentally exemplary new office space replaced a disused and derelict 1962 office block with a modern and flexible workspace for up to 25 charities to work under the same roof, sharing generous communal facilities and community spaces. Recycling and refurbishing the existing concrete structure, and taking advantage of its existing thermal mass, the scheme uses the low-weight, high-quality structural properties of CLT construction to significantly extend the internal space, increasing it to 7049 sqm of floorspace.
As well as providing a new dynamic frontage onto Cambridge Heath Road, the extension to the front of the building facilitates the passive regulation of noise, heating, sunlight and ventilation. The extension to the back of the building provides a new services core, whilst a single-storey rooftop extension creates additional workspaces with uninterrupted views over the city.
The building has a flexible internal layout to accommodate different sized organizations, and a main atrium at its centre to enhance its networking community. The atrium’s timber-structure and lime render ensure optimum lightness, spaciousness and breathability, while its curtain walling further reduces the building’s carbon footprint.
CMA secured permission for phase 1 of the scheme in 2016, which was for change of use of the existing building to offices and a rear extension. Phase 2 was then approved in 2017, which proposed further extensions to the existing building. The scheme was completed in 2019 and has won the Architects Journal Retrofit Award for Offices.
