A New Approach to London’s Dated Offices

Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared in New London Architecture.

From changing work patterns to regulatory shifts, housing shortages, and rising tenant demand for resilient and sustainable design, the events of recent years have resulted in transformative market shifts, revealing a growing polarization in the appeal, value, and return on investment of building assets across major global cities. As a result, landlords and developers are being compelled to reevaluate their properties and explore optimal strategies for enhancement. These shifts are playing out in London, where many buildings are simply not stacking up financially in their current form, while others in key parts of our city continue to climb in value. This underscores the urgent need for innovative approaches to developing and transforming assets to keep them relevant.

In both cases, those buildings need rethinking to address the new drivers that are being imposed by our ever-evolving workforce and the changing demands of tenants. This can mean anything from a light touch intervention and EPC (engineering, procurement, construction)-related plant upgrades to more intrusive alterations and a recalibration of uses to create appeal and deliver best in class quality.

Whether the building in question has an ageing planning consent that is no longer relevant or one that requires a much-needed refurbishment, it is undeniable that the world of work has changed immeasurably and the spaces within need to respond. To revitalise London’s dated office building stock, a fresh approach and thinking are required to make these environments and experiences relevant and capable of attracting the best tenants and, by extension, their best talent.

Maintaining Relevance in a Changing Market

We collaborate with a range of tenants across various sectors to find solutions that meet their changing needs. In recent years, many tenants have found themselves at the forefront of lifestyle shifts and market disruptions, including the rise of hybrid work models and heightened expectations for sustainable and flexible environments. These factors not only influence tenant preferences but also directly impact the long-term value of various real estate assets. As a result, properties that were once fit for purpose now require careful rethinking to cater to new working patterns and employee expectations and experience. London office buildings must provide a rich blend of spaces, amenities, and choices of varied work environments to ensure that they not only meet current demands but also remain relevant and adaptable in the face of ongoing change.

Shifting from Single Use to Mixed Use

Single use assets are becoming far less frequent as the market demands a more dynamic offer to appeal to and meet tenant needs. Buildings generally are shifting away from one use to incorporate a range of uses, blending the boundaries of residential, hospitality, and commercial.

We’re starting to see that more buildings need to offer a mix of amenities, such as office spaces on upper floors with an activated, experience-based ground floor that provides public access and engages with the public realm and sense of place and community. An example of this is our work on Cargo, a major repositioning scheme in Canary Wharf, where we collaborated with the landlord to give a new lease of life to an outdated 1990s office building. One of the first projects of its kind to be designed and repositioned on the Wharf, we transformed the building into a vibrant experience with 340,000 square feet of commercial workspace and a 20,000 square foot community space that is now home to a buzzing market of food and beverage vendors.

Changing the Mix – Designing New Uses

Another approach to rethinking underperforming assets that we are exploring at Gensler is changing the purpose of office buildings to new uses such as housing to provide new residential options in our cities.

We have developed an office-to-residential building analysis tool, which allows developers and landlords to assess whether their buildings are viable for conversion. The tool can examine multiple assets at scale, including site context, building form, floor plate, building envelope, and servicing to quickly identify the viability of a building for conversion. Our research has assessed over 1,300 buildings in 130 cities around the world and has found that at least 30% of buildings will be suitable for conversion. We are actively working on this in the U.K. and are looking to expand the tool to other uses, including hospitality, education, and digital experience.

Our U.S. colleagues recently delivered Pearl House in New York, which was hailed as the largest ever office-to-residential conversion in the city’s history. The building is a prime illustration of the potential of conversions and the impact it can have on the local neighborhood. Pearl House has created 588 apartments and nearly 40,000 square feet of amenity spaces in the heart of the city — activating the ground floor to add more amenities for the new residents and vibrancy to the neighborhood.

Designing Sustainable Assets of the Future

As architects and designers, our work touches billions of square feet every year, so we have a moral responsibility to consider our impact on the planet with every space that we create. To achieve our decarbonisation goals, we must frequently reassess existing assets and previously approved schemes.

In London, full new builds often face the usual challenges and constraints, such as underground infrastructure, transport tunnels, protected views, and the need to preserve historic elements. These obstacles can lead to carbon-intensive structural solutions that fail to meet sustainability targets, highlighting the importance of considering the reuse of existing structures as a more viable option. Whole or partial adaptive reuse of an existing structure instead of building all new significantly reduces our carbon footprint and offsets the embodied carbon of retained materials.

We are actively exploring retrofits with partners such as Opportunity London. With a trusted group of advisors, we are currently leading a new campaign to advocate for the value of retrofit in London and beyond and will be publishing a white paper that outlines its benefits and potential in 2025.

As the London real estate market continues to evolve, we must remain mindful of our future legacy and avoid repeating past mistakes. Throughout the design process, especially in public-facing and landlord areas, we must prioritise material reuse and adaptability in future. By embracing innovative thinking and a forward-looking approach where we design in the ability to repurpose, we can meet carbon requirements and develop sustainable, multi-use, and vibrant spaces that truly reflect the demands of tomorrow.