Baltic Quarter vision moves forward as Muse and ECF step in
Plans to regenerate Gateshead’s Baltic Quarter have taken a significant step forward after the council agreed a pre-development deal with Muse and ECF to progress a major mixed-use scheme of around 1,600 new homes. Under the agreement, ECF will work alongside Gateshead Council to develop the long-term vision for the site, shaping funding, phasing and delivery. The Baltic Quarter plays a central role in the council’s regeneration strategy unveiled last autumn. Initial work will focus on how new homes and workspaces can be introduced alongside improved public spaces, landscaping, routes and infrastructure. The proposals aim to support the area’s existing business community, including Gateshead College and the Northern Design Centre, while creating space for future growth. The council said the regeneration will build on the quarter’s established creative and commercial character, helping current businesses remain and expand, while attracting new companies and talent to Gateshead and neighbouring Newcastle. An early masterplan for the Baltic Quarter has been prepared by architect Brown + Company. Sustainability sits at the heart of the proposals, with the area already benefiting from a district energy network powered by the UK’s largest urban solar farm and mine water heat. A recently completed 1,000-space car park has also been designed to support large-scale electric vehicle charging. Sir Michael Lyons, chair of ECF, said the pre-development agreement allows partners to work closely with the council and local stakeholders to shape proposals that reflect Gateshead’s industrial heritage while delivering lasting economic and social benefits. The agreement was secured through Pagabo’s developer-led framework. Council leader Martin Gannon said the scheme could deliver more than 1,600 homes, new office space and high-quality public realm, creating a visible statement of confidence in Gateshead that could help attract further investment to the borough.
Holborn Circus set for bold new chapter as refurbishment gets green light
Work is due to begin later this year on a major refurbishment of Holborn Circus, as developer Tishman Speyer prepares to appoint a contractor for the landmark Farringdon building. Construction is scheduled to start in the second half of the year at the former Sainsbury’s headquarters, marking the next stage in the building’s evolution. The project will reimagine the property as a modern, highly sustainable office destination designed for the future of work. Plans include the introduction of new internal atriums to bring more light into the building, a complete overhaul of the ground floor and basement spaces, and the creation of a new roof terrace offering outdoor amenity space. Martin Simonneau, Managing Director at Tishman Speyer, said the scheme reflects the company’s confidence in London’s office market and its long-term prospects. He added that the development will draw on Tishman Speyer’s placemaking and development expertise, with the aim of delivering one of the City’s most attractive and environmentally responsible working environments. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Railpen secures regional first in new retail and leisure lettings for Multistory, Birmingham
Railpen, manager of the £34bn railways pension scheme in the UK, has signed two brands at Multistory, its 295,000 sq ft (NIA) office building in Birmingham. This follows the completion of phase one last year, which comprised the creation of 27,000 sq ft of retail and leisure space on the ground floor, with now only one unit remaining to let. 92 Degrees Coffee, founded in Liverpool in 2014, is opening its first Birmingham location at Multistory in early February, a vibrant space that reflects its belief in quality, community, and experience. The new coffee shop will be open to the public and tenants, offering sit-in or takeaway coffee, alongside a dedicated kiosk within the new co‑working hub. It will be serving its signature Damn Fine Coffee, as well as its curated range of great products. That Day, the gym and wellness studio, has also signed at Multistory for 5,300 sq ft, delivering a state-of-the-art facility for occupier use, offering wellbeing workshops, fitness classes, therapy, and coaching. It is due to open in Q1 this year, adding to a collection of amenity uses designed to enhance productivity and wellbeing within Multistory’s workspaces, such as a library, a 15,000 sq ft indoor-outdoor bar and café area with a 2,000 sq ft terrace, an adjoining atrium, and a unique 80-seat auditorium. Emily Atkinson, Asset and Transaction Manager at Railpen, said: “Securing That Day Fitness and 92 Degrees Coffee is a strong endorsement of the direction we are taking with Multistory. These brands share our ambition to create places that establish a sense of community and connection between employees and their place of work. This is an approach we take across our entire office portfolio, selecting brands that will add real value for people working in and around our developments, but also ones that encourage staff retention, attraction, and productivity.” Jack Brewitt, CEO of 92 Degrees Coffee, said: “This opening is a special one for us. It’s not just our first franchise, but our first Birmingham store – a city that’s been on our radar for some time. Multistory felt like the perfect fit: a development that shares our values, with a strong sense of place, a diverse community, and a real vision for the future. We’re proud to partner with Ketch&Co to bring #DamnFineCoffee™️ to the heart of Birmingham and to keep building connections that matter.” Multistory is a grade A standard office building in the heart of Birmingham, boasting the city’s largest single floorplate at 41,000 sq ft, which is now available to let. A three-minute walk from Snow Hill train station, five minutes from Birmingham New Street, and five minutes from the proposed HS2 station, Multistory plays a key role in supporting Birmingham’s continued regeneration and wider UK growth by offering flexible, future-focused space designed around people and place. As well as targeting BREEAM Outstanding, WiredScored Platinum, EPC B and a Fitwell two-star rating, Multistory has parking for over 280 bikes with shower and changing facilities, 92 car parking spaces, and ten EV charging points. Multistory is just one of Railpen’s developments across its office portfolio in the UK, which have all been designed and developed to create high-quality, sustainable, and amenity-rich workspaces that appeal to modern occupiers and their employees. The portfolio also includes Mill Yard and Botanic Place in Cambridge, both of which are currently under construction, alongside several in London, such as Red Lion Square, 125 Wood Street, 101 Bayham, Jamestown Courtyard, 4 Coleman Street, and 12 Smithfield. CBRE and Creative Retail are the retail and leisure leasing agents on Multistory, CBRE and Avison Young lead on the office leasing, with V7 Asset Management advising. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Commercial remodelling sector in decline as London held back by lack of premium office spaces
The latest research by BPS London has revealed that London’s office sector is being held back by a lack of investment in refurbishment and remodelling, with just 7.5% of currently available office rental stock in the capital considered premium workspace. BPS London analysed the size and annual change of the UK commercial property remodelling sector, before conducting further analysis of current London office rental listing stock to assess how much of the market is meeting the standard expected by today’s workforce. Commercial property remodelling sector on the decline The research* shows that in 2022, following the removal of Covid restrictions, the commercial property remodelling sector boomed as businesses adapted to reduced physical attendance and evolving workplace expectations. In total, the sector grew to £6.86bn, marking an annual increase of 25.1%, a rate of growth which then slowed dramatically in 2023 (+6.1%) and 2024 (+1.2%) What’s more, in 2025 the commercial property remodelling market declined by -2.1% to £7.21bn and is forecast to fall by a further -2.7% in 2026, down to £7.01bn. Just 7.5% of available London offices considered premium BPS London believes this decline is arriving at precisely the wrong time, as London’s office market continues to evolve in a post-pandemic landscape and occupiers demand higher-quality, fit-for-purpose space. In fact, BPS London’s analysis** of current London office rental opportunities shows that the vast majority of available stock sits below premium price thresholds. Almost half of office rentals are priced between £31 and £60 per sq ft (46.6%), while more than a quarter fall into the lowest price bracket of £0 to £30 per sq ft (27.4%). Just 7.5% command a premium price point of £91+ per sq ft. Current London offices fail to provide even most basic features Further analysis*** of the features currently being advertised within London’s office rental stock also suggests that many buildings are failing to meet even baseline expectations. Security / security systems were the most common feature, present in 60% of listings, while only 35% of listings provide 24-hour access, despite the evolving working patterns seen since the pandemic. Meanwhile, controlled access is present in just 21% of office rentals. On-site amenities remain limited across much of the capital’s current office stock, with just 18% offering an on-site restaurant and 17% featuring a roof terrace. Fitness centres and concierge services are each available in only 5% of listings, whilst features such as day care and leisure facilities are virtually non-existent, accounting for just 0.1% of available listings stock respectively. Commenting on the findings, Mahir Vachani, Director at BPS London, said: “It’s been said that that mid-week office attendance has now returned to post-pandemic levels and that’s great news for London’s commercial sector. However, the workplace has changed dramatically since Covid, and the capital’s workforce now has higher expectations than ever before when it comes to the quality of their working environment. Today, flexible working is the norm and that means businesses can’t expect employees to commit to travelling into the office if the space itself feels tired, uninspiring, and poorly equipped. Yet our analysis shows that just a small proportion of London’s current office rentals can be considered premium, while many buildings are still falling short on fundamentals such as security, controlled access, and 24-hour availability. At the same time, the UK commercial property remodelling sector has started to contract, with a decline recorded in 2025 and a further reduction forecast for 2026. This is happening at a point where investment is needed most, not only to modernise London’s office stock, but to create fit-for-purpose workspaces that support productivity, wellbeing, and the expectations of the modern-day worker.” Data Tables and Sources Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
Costain to build new M5 gigafactory junction
c.£100m five-year project will provide critical access to Agratas gigafactory in Somerset. Costain, the infrastructure solutions company, has been appointed to design and build a new junction on the M5 motorway. Awarded through the Regional Delivery Partnership (RDP) framework, the contract is worth approximately £100m to Costain over a five-year period. Junction 22A is a new motorway junction being constructed between Burnham-On-Sea and Bridgwater, in Somerset. It will provide access to the Gravity Smart Campus and £4bn gigafactory being developed by Agratas, which will be Britain’s biggest electric vehicle battery manufacturing facility. The junction will consist of north facing slip roads and will alleviate congestion on the motorway south of the Huntspill river. Costain’s role as the project’s delivery integration partner and main works contractor will see it design and construct the new junction before handing it over to National Highways upon completion. In its role, Costain will provide a range of best-in-class infrastructure services, including design, engineering, programme delivery and supply chain management. WSP will support Costain as design partner. Alex Vaughan, Chief Executive Officer of Costain, commented: “This award is built on our long-established highways delivery expertise and trusted partner relationship with National Highways. We will work closely with our supply chain partners to design and deliver this new junction that will provide access to the new gigafactory and help to drive economic growth in this region of the UK. “This investment, supporting the UK’s growth ambitions, is another example of Costain’s commitment to deliver critical national infrastructure programmes that improve people’s lives.” Costain is a long-term partner to National Highways and last year completed the construction of 41 emergency areas on the M1 ahead of schedule. Costain is also providing specialist technical engineering advice to National Highways under its Specialist Professional and Technical Services Framework (SPaTS3), which will cover the whole of the period for Roads Investment Strategy 3 (2026-2031). The infrastructure solutions company is also National Highways’ delivery partner for the M60/M62/M66 Simister Island Interchange scheme. In addition, Costain was recently added to join the Eastern Highways Alliance’s EH4 Framework, covering a range of civil engineering and construction works across the East of England. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals
AWW selects NavLive to accelerate BIM workflows and strengthen Building Safety Act compliance
AWW Architects, one of the UK’s leading multi-disciplinary architectural practices, has adopted NavLive’s LiDAR BIM scanning technology to improve survey accuracy, reduce project risk, and meet the growing demands of the Building Safety Act across a range of high-risk and complex developments. With a team of 100 architectural professionals delivering projects across the nuclear, defence, commercial and public sectors, AWW frequently acts as lead consultant under traditional contract arrangements, often assuming full liability under Professional Indemnity insurance. As part of this expanding remit, the practice is increasingly responsible for Clerk of Works and Principal Designer duties, where precise, coordinated information is essential to maintaining a compliant “golden thread” of building data. Maintaining up-to-date survey information, particularly on existing or part-demolished structures, had become time-intensive and costly. To address this, AWW undertook a comprehensive market review to find an in-house solution capable of capturing reliable, high-accuracy site data while accelerating its Revit modelling workflows. Following extensive evaluation, AWW selected the NavLive LiDAR BIM Scanner as its preferred solution, as the system enables AWW’s designers to generate highly detailed point cloud data within minutes. Through NavLive’s software platform, produce Revit-ready outline models that correct, enhance, and validate existing survey and planning information. The technology has now been deployed across five separate buildings by staff at all levels, delivering consistent results and measurable gains in accuracy, speed, and assurance. Nicholas Mulholland, Managing Director at AWW Architects, added: “The NavLive scanner has significantly accelerated our design workflow and achieved measurable cost savings while improving the accuracy and assurance of our model data. The system provides exceptionally detailed point cloud data within minutes and, through the NavLive software, generates Revit-ready outline models that correct and enhance existing survey and planning information.” Chris Davison, CEO of NavLive, said: “Architectural practices like AWW are facing increasing pressure to deliver precise, assured information at every stage of a project. NavLive was designed to give teams immediate access to high-quality building data, reducing uncertainty and supporting the level of rigour demanded by modern regulation. AWW’s adoption of our technology shows how digital tools can remove delays, improve coordination, and strengthen compliance across some of the UK’s most complex projects.” With a long track record of early BIM adoption and a portfolio spanning high-risk and heavily regulated environments, AWW’s integration of NavLive reinforces its commitment to delivering accurate, coordinated design information from the earliest project stages. The partnership is expected to support future projects as industry requirements around digital record-keeping and safety assurance continue to intensify. Building, Design & Construction Magazine | The Choice of Industry Professionals