Berners Street, London

An office redevelopment in the heart of Fitzrovia, creating highly desirable workspace with ambitious sustainability targets.

Acquired in January 2021, Orwell House is an office redevelopment opportunity which forms part of Kajima’s value-add London investment strategy. Located within Fitzrovia, one of London’s most dynamic and vibrant sub-markets, the property is located within 200 metres of the new Crossrail station at Tottenham Court Road. The existing building comprises 28,600 sq ft of office and gallery accommodation and is currently multi-let to 12 tenants.

In May 2023, Kajima was granted planning permission by Westminster City Council for the partial refurbishment and extension of Orwell House in the heart of Fitzrovia. The building works will create highly sustainable, quality office accommodation, right in the centre of London.

The building’s structure itself will be largely retained and material re-use will be implemented both on-site and off-site where possible, diverting construction waste from landfill.  BREEAM will be an integral part of the design process, informing key areas of the project, with the aim of achieving a status of BREEAM Excellent. 

In addition, the refurbishment will rationalise inefficient floor plates increasing the net internal area (NIA) by 25% to 37,000 sq ft. A new façade will be added to the exterior, a new floor will be added, lightwells which currently create gaps in the floorplates will be filled to provide larger floor plates, and the building will be re-cored, amending or moving the stair and lift access. The refurbished building will offer best-in-class, end of journey’ and wellness facilities, largely aimed at commuters, such as bike storage, changing rooms and showers, seeking to improve the overall occupier experience.

The project will be designed to the RIBA 2030 climate change targets, with a focus on low operational and embodied carbon as well as sustainable construction and material specification, with the aim of achieving a 5.5-6 Star NABERS rating for its environmental performance.  The refurb aspires for WELL Platinum accreditation, targeting high-quality internal design for user comfort, social and physical wellbeing.