The 105 Victoria Street project encompassed the redevelopment of an existing building in Victoria, London, UK, into a new, mixed-use development.
BentallGreenOak (BGO) redeveloped the building on behalf of Welput, a specialist office fund.
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Planning permission for the 105 Victoria Street project was received from Westminster City Council in April 2021.
Construction began in March 2022, and the project was completed in July 2026.
The redevelopment project delivered the UK’s largest fully electric building with net-zero emissions.
105 Victoria Street location
The 105 Victoria Street project is located at the site of the earlier House of Fraser department store constructed in the 1970s in Westminster, London.
The site is located to the south of Victoria Street, opposite Westminster City Hall. It is within walking distance from Victoria Station.
Details of 105 Victoria Street project
The House of Fraser department store was demolished and replaced with a new community-focused 470,000ft² office building with 16 storeys, ground and mezzanine levels. It features 3.5m ceiling heights and includes a 5,382ft² incubator.
The public plaza on the ground floor, known as Village Square, is designed as an extension of the Victoria Street pavement. The floor also includes two office entrances, with elevators as well as retail space. It can host activities such as sports, presentations, art exhibitions, music performances, and events for children.
A 25,000ft² green space and terracing, including a 200m-long looped ‘walk and talk’ track and an urban farm, is also developed.
At street level, 90,000ft² of space is dedicated to the community. It includes public and retail spaces.
105 Victoria Street design details
The building adopts a high-efficiency approach, with an envelope designed around passive measures that limit solar heat gain, cut operational energy use and maintain strong levels of natural light for users.
In-depth thermal simulations informed the balance between opaque facade panels and glazing on each elevation while the form of overhangs and other projections was refined to deliver effective shading with reduced material quantities.
A high-specification arrangement of integrated louvres and vents within the facade modules supports mixed-mode operation, enabling natural ventilation and free cooling, and cutting reliance on mechanical cooling when conditions allow.
The office spaces of the building have been designed to include a structural grid, optimised core locations, tall and flat soffits, and an option for suspended ceilings. The design flexibility provides the scope for a range of layout configurations for the offices. The office levels are built with open, mostly column-free floorplates, and two inboard cores.
The double-height space of Village Square increases exposure to the shop windows and provides a more daylight-covered area within the workspace at the mezzanine level. Soffit and hard landscaping design is incorporated into the Village Square to link the walkway to the plaza’s interior area.
The structure integrated four fish belly transfer beams, each spanning 17.5m and weighing 30t, to a triple-height ground floor space and to enable a pedestrian colonnade along the building’s northern elevation.
Amenities at 105 Victoria Street
The building has two basement levels. The lower basement (basement level two) features plant rooms, along with shower and locker rooms.
Basement level one is built around an activity zone for the arrival of pedestrians and cyclists. A key part of the central zone is a multi-purpose room that is dedicated to hosting indoor sports, games, and gatherings.
Upper levels ten to 14 of the building include terraces. A cycle ramp connecting the basement and the ground level is provided to enable office workers to drive directly into the building.
The activity zone includes a gym, a cycle shop, and extensive cycle storage for both visitors and tenants.
Sustainability features of the UK’s largest net-zero office building
The building incorporates sustainability and wellness features, and it achieved Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) ‘Outstanding’. It also aims to achieve EPC A and WELL ‘Platinum’ certifications. The net-zero building is also expected to meet the 2030 sustainability targets of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The mixed-use development is entirely dependent on renewable sources for its energy needs. It also employed a zero-fossil fuel strategy during construction and used the latest technologies and practices to enable ultra-low carbon construction.
The scheme prioritised recycled and reclaimed products to reduce embodied carbon. Surveys undertaken ahead of demolition confirmed the existing foundations could be retained, avoiding significant waste generation and associated emissions.
As the building was taken down, 98% of non-hazardous arisings were kept out of landfill, and the incoming construction materials were predominantly sourced from recycled feedstock. Embodied impacts were further reduced through substantial cement substitution in precast concrete planks, alongside high recycled content in the structural steelwork and in the aluminium facade components.
Most of the steel beams and columns used for the project were sourced from ArcelorMittal’s recycled and renewably produced XCarb® steel.
The carbon emitted during the construction phase is expected to be offset within six years of operation.
The project’s rooftop city farm, generous planting across the terrace levels, and publicly accessible green space at ground level mitigate rainwater run-off and help curb the urban heat island effect.
Financing for 105 Victoria Street
Welput secured a £400m ($533m) development finance facility from Canada’s Public Sector Pension Investment Board (PSP Investments) and Germany-based Allianz Real Estate (now Pimco Prime Real Estate) in March 2022.
Madison International Realty, a Germany-based real estate investment company, also invested in the project.
Contractors involved
Swedish construction and development company Skanska served as the main construction contractor for the project.
Gleeds, a property and construction consultancy, was appointed as the cost consultant and employer’s agent for the project.
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) was selected for the architectural design of the building while Henning Larsen Architects, which is part of the Ramboll Group, provided the interior design along with Adamson Associates.
Civil engineering services company AKTII provided flood risk assessments and sustainable drainage strategies, as well as structural methodology statements.
Swedish engineering consultancy SWECO prepared reports for the energy and sustainability, fire safety, and utilities of the project.
The Erith Group undertook demolition and enabling works while the engineering design and construction sequencing was provided by Swanton Consulting to Erith for the demolition works.
Consulting companies involved in the project are AOC Archaeology Group, Arbeco, Bourne Amenity, HatchSandy Brown, Millerhare, Peter Stewart Consultancy, RWDI, and Townscape Consultancy.
Severfield, SWA Electrics, Schindler, Polyteck, EnviroLogik, Forza Doors, Integral Cradles, DBOX, DP9 and Careys are some of the other contractors involved in the project.
Advisers that were part of the project include law company Simmons & Simmons, FMDC, CBRE, and JLL.
