Case Study: Rooms with a view

Inspired by a New York State skyscraper, the newly refurbished Thames Tower in Reading is breaking the mould of what to expect from office space in the Thames Valley town

Step out of Reading’s recently redeveloped railway station and Thames Tower rises before you. The summer sun warms people relaxing in a new public amphitheatre at the base of the office building and shines brightly on the terracotta facade of the 15-storey structure. Developed by a partnership between Landid and Brockton Capital, Thames Tower completed in June and has already become a Reading landmark.

An in-house barista serves up artisan coffees while the area can also double up as an events space. Photo Credit: Andy Stagg

The £44m project has seen a tired, outdated office block from the Seventies reinvigorated to create 18,100 sq m of contemporary, design-led office space, with retail units and collaborative workspace at ground level.

‘This is something we specialise in,’ says James Silver, development director at Landid. ‘We take assets that have passed their use-by date and completely transform them into workspace that is fit for today’s occupiers – and tomorrow’s. So we have taken an old office building that was much maligned – it was known as the ugly building by the station – and delivered a best-in-class office asset that looks fantastic.’

Roost has the feel of a stylish members club and gives occupiers a fantastic space to meet, socialise or work away from their desks. Photo Credit: Andy Stagg

Taking Louis Sullivan’s Guaranty Building in Buffalo, New York – one of the world’s first skyscrapers – as inspiration, the scheme of architecture practice dn-a saw the original building stripped back to its structural frame and reclad in high-quality terracotta, the dark red of which takes it cue from the surrounding brick buildings of the 19thcentury in the town centre. The chamfered corners of the existing building were infilled to extend the floorplate and give Thames Tower a perfectly square structure. Four floors were also added, including a sky lounge-cum-winter garden, called Roost, open for occupiers.

The sky lounge-cum -winter garden, called Roost, is open for all of the building’s occupiers. Photo Credit: Andy Stagg

‘The original stumpy proportions of Thames Tower rather contradicted its name,’ says dn-a director Jai Sanghera. ‘Adding four additional floors, squaring the corners and removing the concrete spandrels has created a more elegant, proportionate building, which makes a positive contribution to the streetscape in this rapidly developing part of Reading.’

The building was developed speculatively by the Landid/Brockton partnership – a gamble that already seems to be paying off, with a clutch of high-profile occupiers, including financial services giant HSBC, professional services firm BDO, recruitment company Austin Fraser and natural fast food specialist Pret A Manger taking space in the building, with more expected in the coming months.

The building is a landmark structure within Reading, located by the railway station. Photo Credit: Jack Hobhouse

Taking a look inside, you can see why. The building’s welcoming double-height entrance lobby has been conceived as a collaborative workspace as well as housing reception and concierge services. A palette of concrete tiles and bamboo panelling on the walls is softened by bespoke reception desks formed of oak beams bound by blackened steel braces.

On the office floors, modern, flexible workspace has been created to appeal to the wide range of occupiers. The concrete frame of the existing building forms a backdrop to the exposed services on each of the office floors, used for both aesthetics and to provide tenants with the ability to customise spaces with relative ease.

‘We’ve gone with exposed services throughout the building, which is something our occupiers have responded really positively to – we think the finish just looks fantastic,’ says Sliver. ‘The panoramic glazing provides large volumes of natural light throughout the day and opens up the most incredible views of Reading and the wider Thames Valley. It’s beautiful.’ At the top of the building Roost offers a stunning view out over Reading and the Thames Valley from the sort of space that you would expect to find in a hip members’ club in some trendy part of central London rather than at the top of an office building in Reading.

A palette of concrete tiles and bamboo panelling on the walls is softened by bespoke reception desks formed of oak beams bound by blackened steel braces. Photo Credit: Andy Stagg

The space was designed by Moho London – an interiors design practice that completed an office fit-out on an earlier scheme Landid developed in Reading, One Valpy. ‘It did one of the best office fit-outs I’ve ever seen – and I’ve seen a lot!’ says Silver. ‘With Roost it’ created a space that has the feel of a stylish members’ club and gives occupiers a fantastic space to meet, socialise or work away from their desks. We have an in-house barista and it can double up as an events space. It’s been designed as a winter garden and is overflowing with beautiful ferns – it’s just a stunning space. When you first see it it’s a real surprise; it’s somewhere you can go to relax and zone out – or work in a completely different environment.’

Silver says that providing such a space to occupiers is central to its approach to developing contemporary workspace. ‘Landid believes that businesses today expect much more from their workspace and that providing really great amenities is hugely important to tenant satisfaction,’ he explains. ‘We want people to enjoy coming into work – and occupiers understand that having a great workplace is crucial if they want to attract and retain the best talent. So we focus on creating buildings that have real character and offer occupiers something special.’ With a number of firms already taking space in the building it seems the approach is reaping dividends.