Full Structural Refurbishment of Original Canary Wharf Office
Canary Wharf’s 30 South Colonnade, now known as YY London demonstrates its sustainability efforts through its building design and function. Everyone involved had the responsibility of making sure this development became a new landmark of London.
This was a unique commercial office refurbishment project. A waterfront location, a distinctive façade, and located in the heart of Canary Wharf. Our close collaboration with Skanska has delivered a modern, sustainable building, located in the heart of London’s vibrant Canary Wharf community.
SECTOR Commercial Office
LOCATION Canary Wharf, London
Completion Date September 2023
Architect Buckley Gray Yeoman
Products RMG600, FDEB_M
Structural Refurbishment & New Office Construction
Demonstrating sustainability through design
Working with main contractor, Skanska, the Kingspan team helped find a raised access flooring solution for the challenges they faced, resulting in the customer’s bespoke requirements being met.
A primary feature of this development is the giant floor-to-ceiling windows with a Y-shaped curved façade. This guaranteed that the 37,000 sq. m. of PSA:2021 medium grade RMG600 access flooring by Kingspan was a dynamic feature in its own right and complemented the professional office surroundings whilst remaining functional and adaptable. Kingspan raised access floor systems can be raised one panel at a time for precision and functionality when making required alterations in the underfloor void.
Supreme Redesign, Sustainably Built for Wellbeing
Like other projects in this area, harnessing innovation and being at the forefront of sustainability was important. Their sustainability objectives can be seen through many aspects of the development beginning at the design to the physical functionality and usage.
Installing our raised access floor systems in this development helped enable the office refurbishment to achieve a BREEAM Outstanding sustainable building certification. Two different systems were used for this project and both are supported by Environmental Product Declarations (EPD) that showcase these systems. The latest version of RMG600 (2023) has just 1.67 kg of CO2e per panel in modules A1 – A3 (product stage) of the product life cycle impact assessment (EN15804:2012 + A2:2019 update). The fusion of first-class design features with the retention of the existing structure, together with the sustainability efforts of this project have ensured that the development has achieved an overall saving of 10,260 tonnes of CO2.
The access floor systems that were used in this project were RMG600 and FDEB_H. RMG600 is a PSA:2021 Standard medium-grade system used in offices and FDEB_H is a PSA:2021 Standard heavy grade access floor used in data, IT, and plant rooms within the building.
The FDEB system is finished with a resilient surface covering that includes a High Pressure Laminate (HPL) architectural finish to control static. For this project, HPL was chosen because of its suitability within server rooms with a high volume of electrical equipment. Its intrinsic properties that dissipate static electricity make it extremely safe for these environments. It is also highly durable and resilient whilst still providing an attractive finish.
Gathering Inspiration from Location
It was a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a prestigious development in the heart of London’s Canary Wharf. The sustainability credentials of the building align with our own long-term Planet Passionate sustainability initiatives.
This development offers a cost-effective Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) alternative to constructing new commercial buildings.
