‘The Round’: Huge Bankside wellness hub gets planning permission
Southwark Council has granted full planning approval for a major mixed-use scheme on Blackfriars Road in Bankside, central London.
Real estate investor Hines will develop a “largely vacant” site into a sustainable office and residential neighbourhood by 2030, with construction set to start later this year.
The building will also contain a “circular hub” at the centre – hence ‘The Round’ – which is set to host “year-round events and cultural programming”, Hines said.
“We have designed a healthy mixed-use development that plugs into – and significantly enhances – the existing urban fabric,” head of studio at Foster + Partners, Nigel Dancey, said.
“Our proposal aspires to define the office of the future, with flexible floorplates for longevity and cascading green terraces, which bring a social dimension to the workplace,” Dancey added.
Global architecture and design firm Gensler has said intense weather and climate change, plus increasingly tight Government legislation, will mean that sustainable designs will shift from an “option to an obligation”.
The building will be part of a net zero development and will be the capital’s ” lowest whole life carbon high-rise development”, Hines said.
The development comprises three Foster + Partners-designed buildings, two with over 400 new homes and one with 800,000 sq ft of sustainable office space.
“We’ve listened carefully to our customers and want to create a place that really does support people’s wellbeing, and ultimately leaves them feeling better than when they arrived,” Ross Blair, senior managing director and Country Head of Hines UK, said.
“The workplace and home are where we spend most of our days, so improving these places can have a transformational impact on people’s body and mind – that is our main driver for The Round’s vision, and why we are focused on ‘social wellbeing’,” Blair added.
Hines will pay £74m to Southwark Council as a Community Infrastructure Levy payment and £12m as an affordable workspace contribution, both as part of a Section 106 package.
“Our commitment to bringing this scheme to life, and our investment in ensuring it becomes a destination with community and social wellbeing at its core, underlines our long-term conviction in London as a thriving, global centre for culture, education and business,” Blair said.