St James Market (Phase 1)

Location:

London, UK

Client:

Balfour Beatty

Sector:

Office

Size of Project:

34,000m2

Services:

• Homes & Places
• Strategy Setting

The Project:

The St James’s Market scheme is the first phase in The Crown Estate’s ambitious plans to transform a forgotten area just outside Picaddilly Circus. The first phase included two buildings, one retained facade and one new contemporary building to create an active area of public realm for the benefit of the ground floor restaurants and office workers.

KLH Sustainability pitched with Balfour Beatty to secure the construction of this prestigious development by The Crown Estate in central London. We developed a philosophy of ‘closing the loop’ which appealed to The Crown Estate’s status as land owner and developer. The idea was to maximise the use of raw materials from The Crown Estate portfolio, thereby supporting the UK economy and employment whilst ensuring supply chain transparancy.

The philosophy has seen the installation of a stone façade quarried in Portland and frame-fitted in Ealing, internal FSC hardwood panelling from the Windsor Estate, kiln dried in Grantham, and fabricated in Essex and marine aggregates dredged from the Thames Estuary, landed in Greenwich prior to being barged up river to the concrete batching facility in Battersea.

The project achieved ‘Excellent’ BREEAM certificate scores in both design stage (76% for Regent’s Street Block and 77.8% for Haymarket Block) and construction stage (74.6% for Regent’s Street Block and 72.5% for Haymarket Block.)

In our role as Project Sustainability Manager, we are proud to have played an active role in the project achieving Considerate Constructors Scheme Gold Award for two years running, and in achieving finalist status in the Constructing Excellence London and South East Awards.

The support and skills offered by KLH Sustainability is unique in the industry. Their detailed, practical knowledge of the full development supply chain from planning through to design and construction has influenced how The Crown Estate's Development Sustainability Principles are implemented and is helping to ensure that our Corporate Sustainability position is world-class, yet deliverable. Above all, I have found KLH Sustainability to be flexible and professional. Kirsten often takes the time to discuss new ideas and thoughts informally, in additioin to providing good quality reports and bringing a distinctive energy to workshops and meetings.

Jane Wakiwaka - The Crown Estate, Sustainability Manager