Buro Happold 2022: Recapping London

To celebrate a successful 2022, we’re showcasing 10 of our stand-out London projects from the year.

From the renovation of a major London landmark to the launch of the Arts Green Book, driving sustainability in the cultural sector, 2022 has been marked by a number of successful project completions as well as a catalogue of awards. In this piece, we review a busy year for Buro Happold in England’s capital. 

1. Battersea Power Station

Where else is there to begin other than the icon that is Battersea Power Station. Its chimneys have reached high into the capital’s skyline for over 70 years, but 2022 was the year it would be returned to citizens of London with renewed vigour, after years of disuse. Opening its doors in October, our team were delighted to see years of hard work paid off in the form of this magnificent redevelopment scheme. The project has already claimed awards this year and looks set to receive even more in the coming months and years.

Buro Happold provided a vast array of services towards the development, including acoustics engineering, bridge engineering and civil structures, facade engineering, fire engineering, ground engineering, inclusive design, infrastructure, people movement, structural engineering, and water management.

2. St Giles Circus

This vibrant city focal point stands just a few minutes’ walk from Buro Happold’s London office, hosting an inspiring multi-media centre and 2000-person underground venue. For the 300’000 – 400’000 people who pass through the area each day, this unique creative mixed-use space will provide renewed vibrancy in the space between Oxford Street and Denmark Street. 

As part of our multi-disciplinary project team, our people movement specialists analysed pedestrian movement to optimise the design. From the street view, St Giles Circus’ gorgeous exterior captures attention, a clear reason why the project was credited at the recent CIBSE Society of Facade Engineering Awards.

3. KOKO

Our acoustics, audio visual and theatre consultancy teams combined to renew a gem within London’s live music scene. 

After three years of construction and restoration, overcoming challenges of a biblical nature – a blazing fire, colossal water damage and a global pandemic, the new KOKO features the beautifully restored Victorian theatre, immersive new ‘Fly Tower’ experience, and the new day-to-night Cafe KOKO – all open to the public. 

Our experts worked to merge the new and the old within this beautiful venue, seamlessly mixing a modern high-quality sound system with the splendour of this late Victorian masterpiece. 

4. Arts Green Book

This year, Buro Happold celebrated the launch of the Arts Green Book, much-need guidance to assist in the cultural sector’s transition to zero carbon. 

Combining our expertise in both sustainability and the cultural sector, the Arts Green Book will explain sustainability options, provide direction towards ‘easy wins’ and give targeted advice for different areas of the sector. Arts Council England and the Greater London Authority have supported Renew Culture and Buro Happold to create the book, which also includes an easy-to-use survey tool. 

5. Chobham Manor Neighbourhood POE Pilot Study

Completed this year, this landmark post-occupancy evaluation study of the Chobham Manor development will be adapted and rolled out across 5500+ homes to be delivered by the London Legacy Development Corporation, with findings set to inform both the development and management of new residential neighbourhoods.     

The Buro Happold team delivered a thorough and robust POE assessment, making use of a range of approaches, media and data sources to build a comprehensive picture of residents’ satisfaction and the effectiveness of the development.  The timing of this assessment also saw our team deal with the complexities caused by the global pandemic. 

6. London Institute of Medical Sciences (LMS)

After reaching practical completion in December 2022, this new asset within the Imperial College London will provide a home for up to 45 research groups. Impeccable facilities are shaped around a visually impressive feature staircase, which runs the full height of the building in a single sweep from the atrium, uniting the whole development. 

Abell Nepp who are now part of Buro Happold, also provided a range of consultancy through RIBA Stages 1-5, including laboratory briefing and planning, laboratory interior design, technical consultation, space metrics and benchmarking. They also combined with our sustainability team to further the building’s climate conscious measures. 

Our capacity for multi-stakeholder engagement across our multi-disciplinary teams on complex projects proved vital to this project’s success. 

7. Britannia Leisure Centre

Although completed in 2021, 2022 has been a year of noticeable success for the multi-level leisure facility. Situated amidst the wider Britannia development, a regenerative initiative in which Buro Happold has been involved throughout, this facility has claimed multiple awards this year. 

These successes included victory at the New London Awards as well as recognition as ‘Highly Commended’ under the leisure category at this year’s Architects’ Journal Awards. 

8. Sir Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub

Recognised this year by the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) as an award-winning project in the London area, this 13-storey development houses the Medicine and Engineering departments at Imperial College London in one state-of-the-art facility. 

Research at the Biomedical Engineering Research Hub will help to address some of the most pressing healthcare problems of our time, whilst also setting sustainable precedents, having been awarded BREEAM Excellent certification. Our teams advised on a variety of areas, including Building Information Management (BIM), Building Services Engineering (MEP), environmental consultancy, facade engineering, fire engineering, laboratory consultancy, and sustainability. 

9. Bloom Clerkenwell

Although completed in 2021, this project has drawn huge plaudits as a leading light for wellbeing in commercial spaces in London. 

Bloom Clerkenwell has been shortlisted for both Building Magazine’s Project of the Year, as well as nominated under the ‘Workplace’ category at this year’s New London Architecture Awards. The project’s sustainability credentials are exemplary, becoming the first UK commercial building to achieve BREEAM Outstanding, Wired Score Platinum, and Well Platinum. This has been labelled ‘a trifecta of excellence.’ 

Our teams are incredibly proud of this achievement, with input from our building services engineering (MEP), energy consulting, and structural engineering teams helping to achieve this feat. 

10. Battersea Northern Line Extension

The Battersea Power Station Northern Line Extension has already passed a year since opening to the public, but its success continues to be celebrated. A win under the ‘Infrastructure and Transport’ category at this year’s Architects’ Journal Awards solidified the connective contribution this development has made on the capital.

Bringing convenient transport to the previously isolated Battersea area, the economic benefit of the extension is predicted to be between £6-7bn over the next 60 years. The project’s success brought together a range of Buro Happold’s specialisms, including building information management (BIM), fire engineering, ground engineering, people movement, security, structural engineering, and transport and mobility.