property
Changing the game in Uxbridge
Landid and Brockton Capital’s The Charter Building brings a new kind of contemporary workspace to West London
Uxbridge station is one of the finest on London’s underground network. Travellers arriving at the western terminus of the Piccadilly and Metropolitan lines have long been impressed by the stunning stained glass windows that hang above the ticket hall and fill the airy modernist-style station hall with coloured light. It is one of London’s lesser known gems.
But now, less than 100 metres from the station, Uxbridge has a new architectural surprise, in the shape of The Charter Building: a dramatic and innovative transformation of a tired 1980s office into a contemporary design-led workspace.
Developed by a joint venture partnership between Landid and Brockton Capital, The Charter Building, which reached practical completion in December 2016 and launched to the market in January 2017, comprises 240,000 sq ft of design- led, high-spec, contemporary workspace and will provide a vibrant home to a community of local, national and global businesses.
The project, designed by dn-a architects, saw the original building, which was once the UK headquarters for Coca Cola, completely stripped back to its structural frame. The floorplates were
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extended and a new penthouse floor with access to a dramatic roof terrace has been added, offering stunning views of the town.
The new building features ceiling heights up to four metres, vast one-acre floorplates and a voluminous central atrium, as well as an internal ‘street’ that runs 100m from north to south through the ground floor.
The Business Magazine caught up with Landid director Chris Hiatt to learn more about the Charter Building and how it is bringing an entirely new kind of workspace offering to Uxbridge.
What is special about The Charter Building?
This really is a unique office development – not only is it the largest new office in Uxbridge, it’s one of the largest in London and the South East. We have taken a very tired 1980s building and completely transformed it and the results are remarkable.
We have 240,000 sq ft with some of the largest office floors on the market – around one-acre floor plates – which offer an extraordinary workspace. What I love about the building is while it is big – effectively it’s a ground-scraper – it sits seamlessly within its town centre surroundings. You don’t quite realise when looking at it how big it really is, so it’s quite a surprising building in many ways.
What kind of occupiers are you targeting?
As with the other offices we are currently developing in partnership with Brockton Capital – the Thames Tower in Reading, which completed last month and The Porter Building in Slough, which will complete later this year – the Charter Building is aimed at attracting businesses that value things like high-quality design, innovative workspaces, sustainability and workforce wellbeing. The building has been designed to foster collaboration, co-working and creativity so we think it is a perfect fit for contemporary forward- thinking businesses.
So you are bringing co-working space to Uxbridge?
Yes, there will be co-working space in the building, but our architects dn-a have also designed the shared spaces to foster collaboration. The key feature is an internal ‘street’ that flows 100 metres through the ground floor of the building, connecting the northern and southern entrances, which opens into a voluminous atrium space in the heart of the building. The ‘street’ acts as a kind of dynamic breakout area, and aims to encourage serendipitous encounters, co-working and collaboration. Here occupiers will be able to meet clients, brainstorm with colleagues over a coffee from the onsite barista, or simply refocus outside their main office setting. And the vast atrium space is designed to be flexible, allowing occupiers or the local community to host events.
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – MAY 2017
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