Shortlisted in the New London AWARDS 2021, UNBUILT category, NLA says:
“55 brings together the ingredients that make the city a dynamic and exciting place to be.
The design builds upon the City’s network of alleys and courtyards, opening up the ground-plane to re-establish historic pedestrian routes. An 80% increase in public realm is supported by night-time servicing via concealed vehicle lifts.”
Momentum supported our client Mighty Oasis with a planning application for the redevelopment of 55 Gracechurch Street, including the full suite of transport planning deliverables and a ‘Healthy Streets’ transport assessment. The proposals are for approximately 33,200sqm GIA and feature the erection of a new commercial building comprising high-quality office space, flexible retail uses, public viewing gallery and garden terrace.
The main challenges posed at project inception related to the narrow nature of the site and how the necessary supporting functions could be accommodated.
A bespoke servicing strategy for the site was developed by the Momentum team; innovative solutions were required in order to support the servicing requirements of the proposals. As a concept relatively new to the UK, the proposed use of vehicle lifts required us to work collaboratively with CoL and TfL. Substantial liaison was required and an approved acceptance of the proposed servicing strategy was achieved between parties.
The external environment around the site also posed challenges. High pedestrian flows along Gracechurch Street, to the west of the site, meant that mitigation measures were required to support the additional demands that would be generated by the proposals. The narrow 14-metre site frontage onto Gracechurch Street meant that opportunities for more typical geometric improvements were limited. As an alternative, a new publicly-accessible pedestrian route through the site will be provided. This will provide new routing opportunities for pedestrians, as well as additional footway capacity along Gracechurch Street.
An internal pedestrian comfort assessment was undertaken by Momentum, which informed the layout of the ground floor retail provisions. The assessment and advice ensures that the capture of retail passing trade was maximized whilst ensuring that the space would operate effectively as a new pedestrian through route.
