Allford Hall Monaghan Morris
Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

From the founders’ earliest collaboration at university to now, more than 30 years later, Allford Hall Monaghan Morris has been based on a firm commitment to the design of buildings of economy, elegance and delight: buildings that reflect a continuing belief in the ability of outstanding architecture to last through time; buildings whose success is defined not just by the use for which they were commissioned, but by their ability to adapt to different uses; buildings that aim to make a positive and lasting contribution to the city around them; buildings that form the backdrop to the city and the theatre of everyday life, but that can be, in themselves, extraordinary.

The principal focus of the practice, therefore, has been the design of everyday buildings in the city. It is their belief that such buildings can, through intelligent design and a professional methodology, be made extraordinary.

More than 30 years on the field have strengthened their fundamental principles:

  • the work should be driven by a strategic approach to design which recognises that changes in circumstance and context, both during the design and during the life of the building, are inevitable
  • the work should address and enhance its relationship with both the public it serves and the public spaces that surround it, not least by bringing visual delight
  • the work should do more with less; set the best standards of design, regardless of cost or programme; and be open-minded, generous of spirit and ever optimistic
  • the focus is architecture – and the endless testing of the boundaries of its application.
1 Broadgate

1 Broadgate

The project priority is wellbeing and sustainability, with smart-enabled design to enhance the user experience providing optimal control and indoor conditions to tenants

Project Specs

  • Location: London
  • Client: British Land & GIC
  • Contractor: Sir Robert McAlpine
  • Status: on site

     
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Technology

1 Broadgate

SYSTEMS

Unitized structurally silicone glazed system with fixed DGU vision glazing with solar control coating, fritted/ceramic back painted DGU panels, insulated metal panels with inward side hung metal panel with external perforated aluminum sheet.

External aluminum fins in multiple colours

GRP planters

Stick System with DGU vision glazing with solar control coating

Timber soffit

Designed by

Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

1 Broadgate is a major 14 storey office-led development located in the Southern part of the Broadgate campus, adjacent to Liverpool Street Station. It provides flexible accommodation for a mix of uses including 150,000 square feet of retail space arranged around a new retail arcade over four levels, and 400,000 square feet of new office space above. Lower level volumes pull apart to create entrances and retail arcades through the building, whilst defining its pedestrian edges; these also establish a form of retail podium on which the office uses are stacked. The multi-coloured, autumnal design is focussed on breaking down the perception of the scale of this development and incorporates generous terraces and balconies totalling to 45,000 sq ft of green space for the building’s users. The building integrates with the existing Broadgate Estate and 100 Liverpool Street to provide a seamless public thoroughfare from the station concourse to Finsbury Avenue Square.

The key objectives for the development were safeguarding efficiency, providing flexibility of use for future tenants, and ensuring that the client’s ambitious sustainability targets are met. A whole life carbon approach to design was adopted, including embodied carbon of construction down to the smallest detail, meaning that the building operates with minimal carbon emissions and with the lowest energy use possible.
The building envelope is developed around a ‘kit of parts’ applied in response to building uses, floor level, orientation, and envelope performance requirements, allowing the building to adapt and respond to future needs. The colours of the elevations are taken from the earthy and autumnal colours of the buildings in the surrounding area; the metal fins are coloured to express the building’s stacked volumes, gradually darkening from the base to the top.
The project features varying glazed areas and façade shading, raised sills, high light transmittance, and solar control to optimise daylight and solar gain. 
WindScored Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding building.