Republic in London, United Kingdom by Studio RHE

Article source: Studio RHE

Built in 1993, Republic is a 600,000 square feet office development with retail and leisure amenities and 471 car parking spaces situated on a prominent 6.4-acre island site in the London Docklands. It is currently being refurbished and reimagined by Trilogy Property and La Salle Investment Management to appeal to the burgeoning innovation, co-working, cultural and tech sectors. With a distinctive building wrap from Studio Hingston and designs from award-winning architect Studio RHE, Republic aims to provide competitive rents to young talent priced out of central London locations such as the West End and Shoreditch.

Republic’s location, directly accessed by East India DLR station in E14, anticipates the eastward migration of the creative and digital sectors and cultural institutions, such as the English National Ballet’s move to London City Island and Olympicopolis in Stratford, and enjoys a Zone 2 location and transport links which connects in minutes to the established business districts of Canary Wharf, the City and West End, as well as the cultural neighbourhoods of Stratford and Shoreditch.

Image Courtesy © Studio RHE

• Architects: Studio RHE
• Project: Republic
• Location: London, United Kingdom

Image Courtesy © Studio RHE

As the primary home of the London Internet Exchange and one of the main conduits for internet traffic from the US to Europe, the Docklands offers a digital hub alongside its strong cultural heritage – the grassroots Trinity Buoy Wharf has been host to local artist studios and cultural bodies since 1996.

Architects Studio RHE have unveiled their designs for Republic, a dynamic collaborative campus focused on well-being, connectivity, creativity and flexibility.

Working with Trilogy Property and LaSalle Investment Management, Studio RHE’s plans transform the 1990s post-modern office complex at East India Dock, London.

The first phase of work on Building R1 started on-site in October 2016, and sees the building updated with the re-cladding and extension of the facades at ground and first floors. This creates a new transparent, modern aesthetic to house the amenities including retail, bars and cafes with extensive outdoor terraces.

Image Courtesy © Studio RHE

Modern engineered timber and black steel continue inside the building with a dramatic, extended atrium space over 10 storeys, built entirely from a glulam timber grid.

The design is centred around well-being at work with increased daylight, better levels of ventilation, direct connections with nature and planting in the biodiverse central gardens. A plan layout encourages the use of the carefully placed central staircase over the first three floors, with extensive undercover local cycle parking, a large gym and extensive planted roof terraces.

Collaborative working is encouraged through the provision of shared work and meeting space inside the atrium at ground floor level, which connects directly to the external communal terraces and water gardens.

Designed to appeal to the next generation of creative and tech businesses, Republic will create an attractive work and leisure environment, becoming a new neighbourhood in this previously overlooked corner of London’s Docklands.

Image Courtesy © Studio RHE

A 10,000 sq ft co-working space, event space and rooftop bar on the 9th Floor is set to launch in January 2017.  Off-Quay, a temporary cultural hub and Quilombero, a restaurant launched by East End food stars Missy Flynn and Gabriel Pryce, are already operating on site.

Completing in phases over the next five years, the development is expected to compete on price with key locations in the South East and major UK regional centres, coming in at half the price of current occupational costs in Shoreditch and just one third of the West End. The first building is set to complete in October 2017.

The campus will eventually provide 650,000 sq ft of low-cost high-quality affordable workplace, a wide range of amenities, generous public realm and extensive green spaces around the existing lake.

Richard Hywel Evans, Director of Studio RHE, commented:

“This is an exciting opportunity to transform a 1990s office complex into a dynamic collaborative 21^stcentury campus. The creation of varied flexible working spaces, installation of innovative amenities and facilities, combined with extensive new public realm, will create a sustainable unique new working neighbourhood.”

Robert Wolstenholme, Director, Trilogy Property added:

“It is great to be working again with Studio RHE following the success we shared at the Alphabeta Building.  The journey from Shoreditch to Tower Hamlets has been a deliberate one, as we look to create the next generation of offices bringing new innovations in sustainability, wellness and placemaking.  Our aim is to create a “trophy” workplace for London but deliverable at occupational costs comparable to Manchester, Birmingham or Reading”.

Republic is the latest workplace development by Studio RHE, and follows the success of Alphabeta in London/Shoreditch, which was fully let at completion in 2015, and was later sold for a £200 million premium by the developers Resolution. Alphabeta won extensive awards in 2016 including; RIBA London, BCO Regional and National Awards and was shortlisted by the NLA and AJ Retrofit Awards.

Studio RHE

Studio RHE is a London-based practice with a global reputation for delivering bold and innovative architecture.

Its highly skilled team is renowned for the fast generation of concept ideas and hands-on project delivery. Its latest London project, Alphabeta, which draws on the practice’s experiential hospitality and retail design experience, has placed the practice at the forefront of new thinking in workplace design.

With a range of further high profile projects coming to completion, Studio RHE is fast gaining a reputation amongst clients as an architect with both creative originality and commercial nous.

Tags: London, United Kingdom

Categories: Mixed use, Offices, Parking, Retail

This entry was posted on Friday, December 2nd, 2016 at 6:12 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.