The start of 2017 has already seen some amazing buildings launched. The Elbphilharmonie opened in January – a stunning crystalline concert hall in Hamburg that crowns an old warehouse and, along with a new world-class venue for musical arts, also houses a hotel, flats and a viewing plaza for the citizens of Hamburg to see across their city for free.
The creation of Herzog & de Meuron, it is stunning not only in its architecture but also for going stratospherically over schedule and over budget, with the final bill coming in at €860m (£744m) – 10 times its original estimate.
I can only imagine the outcry if a “public” building of this nature had the same issues in this country, and while it has been reported that the project has, at times, had a rocky relationship with its public in Hamburg too, it already seems as if it is to be forgiven its costly sins because of what it has delivered to the city. It is a statement piece of architecture that is symbolic of the city and what it stands for, that attracts tourists just to look at it as much as to be in it.
I am certain it will stand the test of time, and the city chiefs should be lauded as much as the designers for standing by their project when the going got tough. What is interesting is how it is more than just a concert hall, how it has combined uses and extended its brief. I would argue it is the unique architecture that makes this so successful here.
In the UK, there are also some interesting projects completing – perhaps not on the same scale as the Elbphilharmonie, but which will be worth a look from a commercial architectural perspective. In London, there is the new American Embassy in Battersea, SW8; Allford Hall Monaghan Morris’s new premises for Scotland Yard on Victoria Embankment, SW1; and Foster + Partners’ new Bloomberg HQ, which is aiming for BREEAM “Outstanding”.
Here at Make, our mixed-use Rathbone Square, W1, the new London home for Facebook, will complete and deliver a new landscaped square to Fitzrovia, and we are also finishing our London Wall Place, EC2, scheme for Brookfield, one building of which has been prelet by Schroders.
What these buildings all have in common is that they are taking traditional office design and rethinking it. I have no doubt that all of the buildings will provide outstanding facilities for their staff. It is not just traditional grids, albeit the spaces will be highly efficient; it is about creating places that go beyond purely performing their function and become somewhere the workforce wants to be, where their needs are met. With restaurants, public space and conference facilities, these buildings will be engaging and – in a sense – multi-purpose, extending their brief.
At the BCO conference in May, we are giving delegates the chance to see some of London’s best new commercial buildings and hear from renowned architects Lord Foster and Ole Scheeren. Much like the office buildings that complete this year, and much like the Elbphilharmonie, we are examining how a commercial building can shake off preconceptions and evolve to facilitate the working habits and environments of 20 years’ time as much as today’s.
Ken Shuttleworth is founder, Make Architects
