City of London planners had nodded through plans to convert an office block on the edge of the Barbican Estae to over 170 co-living homes.
Developer HUB is developing the project, known as Cornerstone, in partnership with sustainable and impact investor Bridges Fund Management.
Designed by Allford Hall Monaghan Morris the project involves converting a seven-storey 1950s office at 45 Beech Street into a residential block for city workers.
The retrofit scheme, which will take two years to deliver, utilises as much of the existing building as possible. This approach is projected to achieve a 34% reduction in total embodied carbon compared to a new build of equivalent scale.
Additionally, the scheme will significantly improve the energy performance of the building, and targets industry-leading sustainability standards, including BREEAM Excellent and EPC A.
Community and neighbourhood stakeholders were actively engaged in the consultation process through a series of targeted workshops and events. This included the local business community and Barbican residents.
The wider project team for the Cornerstone includes M&E consultant Introba and structure and civils engineer Whitby Wood.
