Plans to transform 1 Embankment Place above Charing Cross Station are moving forward with one of central London’s most technically interesting retrofit proposals: around 90% of the existing structure is expected to remain while the 1991 landmark is comprehensively upgraded for a new generation of commercial occupiers. The project, being brought forward by Bridgemont with Hopkins Architects, is expected to deliver around 35,000 sq m of Grade A workspace while retaining the majority of the existing façade and much of the structural fabric that already spans one of London’s busiest railway environments.
That makes 1 Embankment Place more than another central London office refurbishment. It is effectively a major construction project being planned around an existing structural system, an operating transport asset beneath it, a prominent post-modern architectural identity and increasingly demanding energy-performance requirements. For London’s construction sector, the significance lies in what the project is trying not to demolish.
1 Embankment Place is effectively an air-rights construction project
Completed in 1991 and designed by the Terry Farrell Partnership, 1 Embankment Place occupies an unusual position directly above Charing Cross Station The building is an air-rights development constructed above the railway tracks, with nine principal office floors and retail and ancillary accommodation interacting with Villiers Street, Embankment Place, Craven Passage and the pedestrian connections towards Hungerford and Golden Jubilee Bridges.
This relationship with the railway is fundamental to understanding the redevelopment. Unlike a conventional office refurbishment where the building can be considered largely within its own site boundary, the structure at Embankment Place forms part of a much more complicated urban and infrastructure environment.
Any substantial alteration therefore has to be viewed through the existing structural load paths, railway interface, access constraints and the limited opportunities available for major temporary works, lifting operations and construction logistics. The project is also highly visible. Its barrel-vaulted roof forms part of the familiar Charing Cross and Thames skyline, while Villiers Street beneath it is one of the principal pedestrian routes between the Strand, Embankment and the South Bank.
A retrofit of a building that has already been retrofitted
There is another interesting layer to the story. 1 Embankment Place has already undergone a major refurbishment. A substantial programme completed in 2014 upgraded the building's offices, infrastructure and environmental performance and achieved a BREEAM Outstanding rating. The current proposals therefore illustrate how quickly the definition of a high-performing commercial building continues to evolve.
A building considered an environmental benchmark little more than a decade ago is now being prepared for another extensive intervention involving the envelope, building services, workspace, amenity areas and public realm. This is increasingly relevant across London, where owners are having to decide whether existing commercial assets can be repositioned rather than demolished. London Construction Magazine's recent analysis of London construction market signals showed how activity is becoming increasingly selective, with viable refurbishment and repositioning opportunities competing against a much more difficult development environment.
Retaining 90% of the structure changes the construction problem
The headline figure is approximately 90% retention of the existing structure. That is significant because structural retention does not simply mean leaving the frame untouched. Major refurbishment projects normally require the existing structure to accommodate new architectural layouts, replacement building services, façade interventions, terraces, plant, altered circulation and potentially different loading conditions.
At 1 Embankment Place, those challenges are magnified by the building's position above railway infrastructure. The construction question therefore becomes less about creating a new structural frame and more about understanding precisely what the existing one can accommodate.
For contractors and engineers, projects of this nature typically place greater importance on:
- detailed verification of the existing structure;
- opening-up and intrusive investigations;
- confirmation of existing materials and connections;
- structural load assessments;
- temporary works and sequencing;
- local strengthening around new openings or altered load paths;
- movement and vibration monitoring where necessary;
- careful integration of new building services with retained construction; and
- coordination between architectural intent and the physical limitations of the existing asset.
These are not confirmed packages for 1 Embankment Place, but they illustrate the delivery questions created by a retention-led strategy of this scale. The fundamental advantage is that the carbon already invested in the structural frame is not automatically discarded. The trade-off is that the construction team inherits the geometry, tolerances, interfaces and unknowns of an existing building.
Construction above Charing Cross Station will be a defining constraint
The most interesting delivery issue is what sits underneath the offices. Charing Cross Station is not simply adjacent to the site. The office building was constructed above the Network Rail tracks. That changes the risk profile.
Heavy structural intervention, demolition sequencing, lifting operations, temporary support and changes in loading all require a much higher degree of coordination when railway infrastructure forms part of the environment immediately below. Construction logistics are also constrained by geography.
Villiers Street is narrow and heavily used by pedestrians, while the Strand, Embankment, Hungerford Bridge and the railway restrict the conventional site logistics options that might exist on a standalone commercial development. That means the eventual construction methodology may become almost as important as the architectural proposal itself.
Detailed temporary works, logistics and railway-interface arrangements have not yet been publicly established, and a main contractor has not been confirmed. Those will be important elements to watch as the project moves from planning and design towards procurement.
35,000 sq m of Grade A workspace
The proposed scheme is expected to provide approximately 35,000sqm of Grade A workspace, together with upgraded amenities, outdoor terraces and new retail, food and leisure accommodation at lower levels. The objective is not simply to improve the existing office floors. The project is intended to reposition the wider asset and improve its relationship with the streets and transport connections around it.
This is particularly visible on Villiers Street. Current proposals aim to create a brighter and more active ground-floor environment, improve frontages and make the building easier to navigate for the large numbers of people passing between Charing Cross, Embankment and the South Bank. Victorian elements beneath the later development are also expected to play a greater role in the new public-realm strategy.
Preserving Farrell's building while changing how it performs
The architectural challenge is unusually sensitive. Sir Terry Farrell's original design is one of the most recognisable post-modern commercial buildings on the Thames, with the vaulted roof deliberately responding to the historic railway architecture beneath it. Hopkins Architects is leading the redesign, while Max Farrell, founder of LDN Collective and son of Sir Terry Farrell, has been involved in advising the project team on the evolution of the original design intent.
The approach is therefore not one of freezing the existing building in time. Instead, the aim is to retain important architectural characteristics while changing the parts of the building that no longer perform effectively for modern commercial occupation. That includes workspace flexibility, daylight, environmental performance, accessibility, ground-floor activation and connections with the surrounding public realm.
Energy performance is central to the business case
The sustainability targets are particularly ambitious for an existing building. Project information indicates a target of approximately 70% lower operational energy consumption, alongside a move to an all-electric heating and cooling strategy.
The scheme is targeting:
- BREEAM Outstanding;
- NABERS 5-star;
- EPC A;
- rooftop photovoltaic generation;
- additional biodiversity and planting; and
- substantial retention of the existing structural fabric.
This combination is increasingly important in London's commercial market. Operational efficiency alone is no longer enough to define a low-carbon office project. The carbon consequences of demolition, reconstruction and material replacement are increasingly part of the development equation. That is why retaining the structural frame matters. It keeps a substantial quantity of existing material in service rather than replacing the building simply because its commercial specification has become dated.
The project team behind 1 Embankment Place
The emerging professional team includes a number of major London construction and property specialists.
- Bridgemont — development and asset management;
- Hopkins Architects — architect;
- AKT II — structural engineering involvement;
- Arup — engineering and technical consultancy;
- Turner & Townsend alinea — cost and project management;
- Max Farrell / LDN Collective — design and architectural legacy advice;
- DP9 — planning consultancy;
- The Townscape Consultancy — townscape and heritage advice; and
- Kanda Consulting — community and stakeholder engagement.
The eventual main contractor remains one of the most important outstanding appointments. Given the combination of retained structure, live railway interface, complex logistics, high-specification commercial fit-out and significant building-services replacement, procurement will be closely watched by the London supply chain.
A 36-month construction programme is being indicated
Current project-stage information points towards an approximately 36-month construction programme, with the development expected to support more than 1,000 jobs. Those figures should still be treated as programme-stage estimates until the detailed delivery strategy and contractor procurement are established. The eventual sequencing will be particularly important because the project cannot be considered independently of the transport infrastructure and public routes surrounding it.
This is exactly the type of complexity highlighted in London Construction Magazine's analysis of the risks reshaping London construction in 2026: projects may exist in the pipeline, but the ability to sequence, approve, procure and physically deliver them increasingly determines when construction activity actually reaches site.
Why 1 Embankment Place matters beyond Charing Cross
The project could become an important case study for the wider London commercial market. Large parts of central London's office stock were constructed during the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. Many of those buildings now face the same fundamental question. Do they need to be replaced, or can enough of their existing structure be retained to justify another generation of use?
1 Embankment Place pushes that question further because this is neither an ordinary office building nor an easy site. It is a major structure sitting above railway infrastructure, with a prominent architectural identity and little room for conventional demolition and rebuilding logistics. If a commercially viable Grade A office can be produced while retaining around 90% of that structure, it strengthens the argument that difficult existing buildings should at least be tested seriously for reuse before demolition is treated as the default solution.
The scheme also joins a wider pipeline of complex capital projects that will shape London's construction workload over the coming years. London Construction Magazine recently identified several of these in its assessment of major London construction projects approaching delivery.
What remains unknown
Several commercially important details have yet to emerge.
- No main contractor has been publicly confirmed.
- A reliable construction value has not been established.
- The detailed construction logistics strategy remains to be seen.
- Railway-interface requirements and possessions, if required, have not been publicly detailed.
- The final temporary works strategy is not yet known.
- Detailed structural strengthening requirements have not been published.
- The precise construction start and completion dates remain dependent on planning, procurement and the wider occupation strategy.
These are likely to become more important than the headline architectural numbers as the scheme progresses.
LCM view: the real story is the structure being kept
London has no shortage of redevelopment announcements describing new Grade A office space, improved public realm and stronger environmental performance. What makes 1 Embankment Place different is the physical constraint around which all of those ambitions have to be delivered.
The building already exists, approximately 90% of its structure is intended to remain, and underneath it sits Charing Cross Station. That places structural investigation, engineering coordination, sequencing, temporary works and logistics at the centre of the redevelopment rather than at the margins. For the construction industry, this may ultimately be the project's most useful lesson. The next generation of London development will not always start with an empty site and a new frame. Increasingly, it will start with the question: what can we prove is capable of staying?
|
Expert Verification & Authorship: Mihai Chelmus
Founder, London Construction Magazine | Construction Testing & Investigation Specialist |
