88 Wood street

Stuart Forbes worked on 88 Wood Street whilst at Richard Rogers Partnership. Commissioned for Daiwa Europe Properties the project sits over a crucial telephone exchange for the City of London.
The glass and steel staircases pop out of the edge of the building giving breathtaking views of the city. Triple glazed Low Iron glass manufactured by Saint Gobain allow crystal clear views out of the building. 

This site, located at the junction of Wood Street and the London Wall in the City, was formerly occupied by a 1920s telephone exchange.

The project presented an opportunity to explore a high degree of complexity and efficiency of structure which has developed a clear legibility of engineering principle in the built form.

The lightweight, steel framed service towers contain toilets, lifts and escape stairs which are supported by the minimum number of structural elements, each dependent on the other and all essential to provide the stability of the structure.

These core structures present the perfect balance to the heavier, cast in-situ concrete towers which rise to eighteen storeys.

The building contains 33,000m2 of let office space which is environmentally controlled by a triple glazed active façade formed of single panels of ‘diamond white’ low iron glass.

Solar controlled horizontal blind units are activated by rooftop photocells which monitor external light values and adjust the angle of the blinds to assist in the control of  solar  glare,  heat  gain  and  energy consumption.

Stuart’s role in the project was to develop the lightweight cores, lifts and specialist steelwork which created the lively and animated façade of the building. The assembly of the cores and expression of structure which utilised a unique suspension system has become a seminal representation of modern day Rogers buildings.

The steel structure is painted yellow. The low iron glass is near invisable. 
88 Wood Street has three sections of floor space. Each 9, 13 and 17 storeys high. The unapologetic modern facade combines a jagged profile within an elegant concrete frame. 
88 wood street was a speculative commercial development. The project took 11 years to complete due to an underground telephone exchange being spot listed during the deveopment of the project.
The triple height atrium reception to 88 Wood Street. The low iron glass allows for incredible views through the facade.