The Zig Zag Building Victoria Street, London, SW1
The Zig Zag Building Victoria Street, London, SW1 Client: Land Securities Scope: Lead Design Architectural Services (CMT & Novated) Type: Offices, Retail, Gardens Budget: 80,000,000 Area: Offices -17,440 (187,700 sq ft), Retail - 3,500m2 (37,670 sqft) Status: On Site (practical completion Summer 2015) This BREEAM Excellent office building is part of a scheme that replaces an existing slab-like office building on Victoria Street in central London with two new buildings that incorporate a mix of retail and residential. We won this project in an invited competition in Spring 2010, and gained planning consent in November 2011. Demolition commenced in March 2012. The main contractor is Lend Lease, and completion is due Spring 2015. Changes in Westminster s planning policy in 2009 led to the demand for residential accommodation on sites previously dominated by office accommodation. We responded to this in proposing two buildings that are considerably higher than the UDP initially envisaged.this was possible because we saw opportunities for pedestrian permeability through the site, which led to our proposal for two porous blocks and between them two significant new public spaces and public routes lined with restaurants and bars. The design comprises two clearly distinct buildings that express their different internal uses whilst making a harmonious urban ensemble. Zig-Zag (G+12 storeys) will be office space from second floor upwards and Kings Gate (G+14 storeys) will be exclusively residential from second floor upwards, housing 100 apartments ranging from studios to three and four bedroom family flats. The scheme proposes an active retail frontage at ground and first floors of both buildings.the office building will be articulated with gold coloured metal window reveals that will shelter the occupiers from sunlight whilst making the most of the views over the Royal Above: collage of Victoria Street showing Lynch Architects projects
Parks. Roof terraces will be planted with trees and plants. A courtyard between the new buildings and a large public park at the rear of the site create spaces for the occupants to eat lunch and to enjoy the street scene. Whilst the building can operate with conventional air-conditioning systems, we have embedded cooling pipes in the concrete floor slabs which work together with chilled beams and an active facade to cut energy costs. When the concrete ceiling is exposed we achieve floor to ceiling heights of 3.4m. Floors 7, 8 & 9 were pre-let to a financial services company in September 2014.
Top Left: collage view looking North across Victoria Street showing Lynch architects projects Below Left: view of Kings Gate s South facade Top: site plan of Kings Gate & The Zig Zag Building Bottom: 6th floor plan of The Zig Zag Building
Our facade concept responds to current Building Regulations requirements for it to open to provide smoke ventilation, and the need for insulation. The opening panels create Juliette Balconies, offering inhabitants the potential for natural ventilation, fresh air, privacy and views. An external screen of vertical fins protect the predominantly glass facade from solar gain, whilst a hung onyx screen controls glare. The facade is being fabricated in Germany by Gartner. Below: collage of corner of Victoria Street & Palace Street Top Right: collage of the courtyard looking North Far Right: collage of the courtyard looking South Bottom Right: collage of office entrance Artwork on, within and around the building articulate its ethical commitment to energy use - transforming the essential technical aspects of contemporary design into a series of beautiful experiences of the city.
Left: early drawing of the South facade Below: view of the South facade prototype by Gartner Bottom: views of the South facade on site September 2014
Left: model photograph of the South facade Below Left: collage of corner of Victoria Street & Palace Street showing projection by Simon Heijdens of digital art works BelowRight: collage of office interior showing opening facade & exposed concrete ceiling 3.4m high
About us Lynch Architects was established in December 1997 by architect Patrick Lynch. Projects range in scale from private houses, galleries and public spaces, to masterplans that include major civic, commercial and residential buildings in central London. Our clients include major and smaller development companies, local authorities, private organisations, charities, and individuals, such as Land Securities, Hammersons, Multiplex, and the London Boroughs of Barking & Dagenham, Westminster and Islington. Lynch architects won The Young Architects of the Year Award in 2005 and was listed as one of The World s 25 Best Architects in Wallpaper magazine 2005. We exhibited in the Irish Pavilion at the Venice Biennale in 2008 and were included in the Official Selection at the Venice Biennale in 2012. A layered facade that fits immaculately well into its surroundings, offering colonnaded spaces at ground floor. Subtle articulations of form in plan create a perceptible sense of arrival, a public street, a bead of experience on the string of Victoria Street. To walk round or past the building is not a dull march but a meander through columns, variable shade and texture evocative of landscape: urban fabric at its most humane. Professor Flora Samuel Blueprint April 2014 Above: site plan of Kings Gate & The Zig Zag Building