Henning Larsen designs an active community hub for London
By David Malone, Associate Editor
105 Victoria Street, located just a short walk from Buckingham Palace, will be Henning Larsen’s first project in London. The mixed-use project will include office space, a reinterpretation of the typical commercial foyer as an urban plaza, and a variety of indoor and outdoor amenities that will enable a more active workday.
The 470,000-sf building will replace a traditional foyer and reception area on the ground floor with a covered plaza, dubbed the Village Square. This large community hall will angle through the ground level and be flexibly outfitted with stalls to allow it to adapt to various building and city events.
The Village Square is designed to be a vibrant market hall that creates a natural short cut through the city. It will have the ability to accommodate live music events, fashion shows, art exhibitions, and sports. A market, retail stores, and co-working spaces will exist within the Square continuously.
A winding staircase and bicycle ramp will wrap around a small pocket of indoor grocery and connect the Village Square with underground bicycle parking, a workshop, a gym, and a multi-purpose event and conference hall. Additionally, a looped indoor and outdoor walk and talk track on the 10th floor will connect a range of amenities and functions with landscaped terraces.
The project is designed to meet BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ standards and reach net zero embodied carbon by 2026. Henning Larsen is designing 105 Victoria Street in collaboration with Adamson Associates Architects and KPF.
