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Greater London Authority (GLA)

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Service: Project Management and Contract Administration | Sector: Public Sector Office/Public Building

The Challenge

  • We were appointed to transform an exhibition centre formerly known as The Crystal into the new City Hall for relocation of the GLA, including the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.
  • The Crystal was originally designed and built as a highly sustainable building with cutting edge technologies, however many of these had been unused for a number of years and were in poor condition.
  • A key objective for the project was to improve the environmental credentials of the building and reduce carbon emissions.
  • The project needed to be undertaken within a relatively short timescale given the GLA were operating a lease break clause at old City Hall.

The Solution

  • The design included extensive alterations to the structure and fabric to create the Assembly Chamber, Committee Rooms, secure offices and public areas required for a building of this type.
  • The design was developed to reinstate the existing systems or replace those beyond repair with new more efficient and sustainable systems.
  • A procurement route was selected that allowed for the principal contractor to be selected through a competitive tender process, following public sector rules, and which allowed for the designs to be developed concurrent with construction work.

 

The Result

  • As a result of the commitment by all parties including the GLA, contractors and consultants, new City Hall was occupied on 24 March 2022, 16 months after the Mayor announced the GLA was to relocate.
  • The original Crystal building was awarded BREEAM Outstanding and LEED platinum. The City Hall transformation project has been awarded BREEAM Outstanding for refurbishment.
  • The upgrades introduced as part of the refurbishment and transformation to create the new City Hall will reduce the building’s carbon emissions by Approximately 20%.

 

Related Service & Sector

National Offices Public Sector Project management Environment

Key contact

Miles Thompson

Partner

James Yarham

Senior Associate