Cllr Claire Holland, Leader of Lambeth Council, Paul Vallone, Divisional Managing Director of Berkeley and Marcus Geddes, Managing Director - Workplace, Landsec, gathered on the roof of Oval Works today to celebrate the ‘topping out’ of a new 77,000 sq ft sustainable office space in Lambeth.
The ceremony, which marks the completion of the building’s structural frame, is a key milestone in the delivery of this flagship workplace building, which forms a key part of Berkeley’s Oval Village, a 1,360 home (500 affordable) mixed-use community, which also includes the restoration of an iconic century old Grade II Listed gas holder.
Oval Works will span seven floors and provide a new workplace to over 750 people. The large double-height reception will offer an impressive welcome to a multitude of different businesses, with a wellness focused café for office workers and visitors.
The best-in-class scheme is targeting BREEAM ‘Excellent’ in addition to WELL certification. Dedicated cycle provision, changing rooms and showers will encourage healthy living and sustainable travel.
Setting a high bar with a wraparound roof garden, Oval Works places the wellbeing of its business community as a key priority. All office workers will benefit from breath-taking views of the Vauxhall and Nine Elms skyline. The building will also have an all-electric low carbon heating and cooling solution, helping businesses to meet their net zero goals.
On completion, targeted for Q1 2025, the building will be handed over to Landsec, one of the largest real estate companies in Europe, which purchased the building in 2022.
Cllr Claire Holland, Leader of Lambeth Council, said:
"This is an important milestone for the Oval Village development and a testament to the strong working partnership between the council, Berkeley, the Greater London Authority, Landsec, and others. Our priority for Lambeth is to facilitate the good growth the borough needs, to bring in more jobs for our residents, more homes – particularly affordable homes – for people in need and to make the best use of the borough's land. This scheme helps to deliver on our Lambeth 2030 ambitions to make our neighbourhoods fit for the future, where people in our borough can thrive with good work and warm, dry and secure homes."
Paul Vallone, Divisional Managing Director, Berkeley, said:
“This is an exciting milestone for Oval Village as we continue to transform this long derelict gasworks into a sustainable mixed-use neighbourhood. Oval Works forms a crucial cornerstone of our masterplan and we’re hugely proud to be playing our part in bringing new jobs, growth and opportunities back to this fantastic part of Lambeth. I am delighted that we were able to share the special moment with our partners at Lambeth Council and Landsec.”
Marcus Geddes, Managing Director, Workplace, Landsec, said:
“The demand for best-in-class, sustainable workplaces in well-connected places remains high. This marks the next step in our strategy to invest in more growth opportunities, maximising the potential of brownfield sites while creating much-needed workplaces where more businesses can flourish.”
Oval Works is one of a number of commercial spaces that Berkeley is developing as part of the Oval Village masterplan. This six-acre brownfield regeneration site will deliver 35% affordable housing, a new 26,000sqft Tesco store as part of a vibrant retail and leisure space offering and a network of new pedestrian and cycle routes. The development will also include 2.5 acres of public space over 150 trees and will deliver a 178% biodiversity net gain.
Oval Village is one of Berkeley Group’s 32 long term brownfield regeneration projects.