The ‘One New Change’ office and retail development spanning 52,000 square metres has been developed by UK-based real estate investment trust Land Securities. Jean Nouvel worked in collaboration with delivery architect Sidell Gibson. The scheme opened on 28 October 2010 is London’s newest shopping destination, complete with cafés and restaurants, overlooking London’s most famous landmark, St Paul’s Cathedral.
Care has been taken to ensure a design that not only preserves views of St Paul’s but also enhances the local vista. The innovative design is finished with a unique matt glass enclosure that will provide a soft backdrop to the surrounding buildings and landscaping. This iconic modernist building’s 6,500 floor-to-ceiling glass panes features varying shades of red, grey and beige, flooding the floors with natural light.
Sustainability has been central in the design of One New Change, which has reduced its carbon footprint by at least 10% through the use of renewable sources on site. The development has maximised its energy efficiency through the use of large-scale geothermal heating technology. This system means One New Change can be heated and cooled with extreme ease simply by using geothermal energy.
Drilling to a depth of 150 metres, Land Securities has installed a ground source energy system which is the largest commercial application of the technology in Europe. As a result, One New Change has received an ‘excellent’ sustainability rating under Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM), which measures the environmental impact of buildings.
The exterior skin of the building limits heat gain which in turn reduces the amount of cooling required during the warmer months. The design has also set an air tightness target for the façade, which exceeds the current minimum requirements, to prevent heat escaping.
Contrasting with the polished interior and hustle and bustle of retail inside, a sunken garden is featured outside, offering an oasis of leafy calm on the busy corner of Cheapside. A series of green stepped terraces are integrated to encourage biodiversity in the centre of London.
One of the world’s great modernist architects, Jean Nouvel, was selected for the One New Change project through an open architectural competition organised by Land Securities in 2003. Nouvel is recognised for his artistic integrity in employing challenging, original architecture for highly sensitive sites.
