Helical has appointed McLaren Construction as the main contractor for the £90 million transformation of Brettenham House, an iconic Art Deco building on London’s north bank, into a state-of-the-art sustainable office and retail hub.

Originally built in 1932 and located within the Savoy Conservation Area, Brettenham House is set to undergo a major refurbishment that will modernise the building’s interior while preserving and restoring its distinctive historical features. The 128,716 sq ft office building will be reconfigured to meet the highest sustainability and wellness benchmarks, targeting BREEAM Outstanding, NABERS 5*, EPC A, and WELL Platinum ratings.

The project will also expand the outdoor terrace space to 6,600 sq ft and introduce generous communal areas at each entrance to foster collaboration and social interaction. The basement will be upgraded to replace car parking with modern cycling amenities and improved end-of-journey facilities. The building’s services and glazing will be comprehensively replaced and enhanced.

Externally, the redevelopment will focus on restoring the building’s original façade detailing, particularly at ground level on Lancaster Place, where it faces Somerset House. Missing heritage elements, such as the distinctive bronze lanterns that once marked the main entrance, will be reinstated, while unsightly service louvres and grilles on Savoy Street will be concealed behind decorative openwork panels.

Matt Redgrove, Senior Development Executive for Helical, said: “We are very pleased to be partnering with McLaren to revitalise this Art Deco icon. Along with sensitively restoring the building, we will be bringing the specification up to modern day sustainability and amenity standards with the terracing across the building providing unrivalled views along the River Thames.”

Darren Gill, Managing Director for London & South at McLaren Construction, added: “This monumental building at the top of Waterloo Bridge will be a familiar landmark to so many of London’s workers and visitors and we will all enjoy seeing it restored and revitalised. It’s not so long ago that it would have seemed like a tall order to bring a 1930s building up to the standards of a brand new office, but that’s become a far more familiar and achievable task.”

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