30 Duke Street St James's
Pioneering material reuse and low-carbon engineering
We are providing structural engineering and sustainability services to deliver GPE’s most ambitious material reuse project to date. Approximately 78% of the steel structure (~440 tonnes) was formed from reclaimed steel. Of this, 67% originated from the donor buildings previously occupying the site, while the remaining was sourced from EMR and Cleveland Steel Stock.
This approach makes 30 Duke Street St James's the largest commercial steel reuse project in London and, to our knowledge, the UK. The scheme also salvaged Portland stone, granite, marble, timber handrails and glass blocks for reuse, reinforcing the project’s commitment to circular principles. Together with targeted BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Platinum certifications, and alignment with NABERS Design for Performance, the result is a technically advanced, low-carbon workplace rooted in its historic setting.
The project not only demonstrates the feasibility of steel reuse at scale but also delivers substantial embodied carbon savings (744tC02e in total) — setting a benchmark for the future of low-carbon structural design in dense urban contexts. The project brought together a team of expert contributors, including Hoare Lea as MEP consultant, JF Hunt as Enabling Works Contractor, MACE as Principal Contractor and Turner & Townsend alinea as Quantity Surveyor.
Image Credit: Make Architects
- Architect
- Make Architects
- Client
- GPE
- Location
- Piccadilly, London
Quote
Back in 2021, we had a presentation from Gary Elliott from Elliott Wood. He brought the subject of sustainability — more particularly, circular economy — to the table.
Impact
We are facilitating the reclamation of approximately 1,500 tonnes of 1990s steelwork for GPE’s development projects.
Using steel from the reclamation, approximately 78% of 30 Duke Street's structure (~440 tonnes) uses reclaimed steel:
— 67% is from the donor building
— 6% is from wider EMR stock
— Sourced from Cleveland Steel Stock, 4% of the steel is reclaimed, and 1% is recovered
To facilitate wider material reuse, Portland stone, granite, marble, timber handrails and glass blocks from the demolished buildings are being salvaged for reuse in GPE developments.
Sending 12 tonnes of glass back into the Saint Gobain Glass Forever Recycle Scheme, the project is the first commercial development to:
— Use 100% recycled aluminium window frames
— Use 100% recycled glass above ground floors
We are working to ensure the project achieves the client’s ambitious targets for BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Platinum sustainability certifications.
As GPE’s largest reclaim project to date, a key consideration is ensuring the specific requirements of BREEAM and WELL are aligned with the client’s ESG targets and NABERS Design for Performance requirements. For example, the WELL requirements for air filtration and thermal comfort had to be carefully considered against the scheme’s predicted energy consumption to avoid compromising the NABERS rating.
Using data from our pre-demolition materials audit, STUDIO TIP reused building materials from 30 Duke Street to create an art exhibit.
Displayed at Material Matters 2024, the exhibit resulted in an “installation that playfully interrupts the space made from a series of interconnected assemblages and arrangements of salvaged and celebrated materials salvaged from 30 Duke Street St James's. The installation highlights the creative reuse of these materials and inspire artists, designers, makers and material tinkerers within our creative community.”
Our Approach
Recovering steel from the donor building
We were involved from the start and had a presence on site during the deconstruction of the donor building, City Place House. We advised on steel removal and logged the steel according to section size, length and the level of damage that occurred during the process.
In total ~1,500 tonnes of structural steelwork was salvaged from the 10-story building, with approximately 375 tonnes of that steel used at 30 Duke Street St James's. Surplus steel was left with EMR, for use on future GPE projects or recycling to the wider market.
Saving embodied carbon with efficient grids
By RIBA Stage 2, we had an inventory of the reclaimed steel from the donor building. This allowed us to shape the design and explore ways to reduce the frame’s embodied carbon, including a tighter 9m x 9m grid to use lighter members and less steel overall.
However, a large quantity of 14–15m beams were recovered, allowing the design to shift to a 13 metre long span and column-free space at a fraction of the embodied carbon when compared with a new steel frame.
Identifying opportunities for further materials reuse
Our Sustainability team conducted a pre-demolition audit to identify opportunities for material reuse within the existing French Railways House building. Portland stone, granite, marble, timber handrails, glass blocks, signage and steel are just some of the key materials which were salvaged for reuse in the project. Hundreds of other materials such a sanitary ware, track lighting, cabinetry, ceiling panels and radiators were salvaged for reuse off-site.
Image: Make Architects
Quote
The biggest challenge was the sheer quantity of steel we were aiming to reuse — around 440 tonnes.
Solutions
The scheme also salvaged Portland stone, granite, marble, timber handrails and glass blocks for reuse, reinforcing the project’s commitment to circular principles. Together with targeted BREEAM Outstanding and WELL Platinum certifications, and alignment with NABERS Design for Performance, the result is a technically advanced, low-carbon workplace rooted in its historic setting.
Approximately 78% of the project's steel structure (~440 tonnes) was formed from reclaimed steel. Of this, 67% originated from the donor buildings previously occupying the site, while the remaining was sourced from EMR and Cleveland Steel stock.
By RIBA Stage 3, we were receiving test and measurement data from EMR, the stockist processing the reclaimed steel. This allowed us to begin allocating material directly into the Revit model. From there, we optimised the allocation — removing elements that were damaged, inefficient, architecturally incompatible or required excessive splicing to reuse effectively.
Once we’d used all the viable steel from the donor building, we turned to other sources to maximise reuse. This included reclaimed stock from EMR and Cleveland and beams salvaged from the existing building on site as it was being demolished, which were reused directly in the new frame.
In total, 77.5% of the steel (433 tonnes) was reclaimed, with a further 1% recovered (6 tonnes). This delivered a carbon saving of 75 kgCO₂e/m², or 744 tCO₂e overall.
