Arcadia Head Office, 70 Berners Street – Projects

As part of the Arcadia Group’s refurbishment of their London Oxford Street offices, Elliott Wood are providing advice on the alterations to the original 1920’s structural steel frame.

Challenges posed by this project include the fact that the building underwent a major refurbishment in 1985, and much of the spare capacity in the original structure was exploited at this time.
Additionally, the first two storeys and basement are occupied by the Plaza Shopping Centre, which prevents any potential strengthening works to the lower levels. Elliott Wood applied its understanding of the building’s history – obtained by both inspecting the building and analysing archival records – to justify the introduction of over 420 m2 of additional floor space.

The majority of this additional space is provided by projecting the floors into the two existing four-storey deep internal courtyards. These have been covered by a new glazed grid shell roof.

Elliott Wood’s 3D Revit model of the structure is forming the basis of the team’s Building Information Model (BIM) and is used to coordinate with the other disciplines in the design team.