The Black & White Building

Nestled in the ultra-low emission streets of London sits The Black & White Building, an innovative workspace that marries wellbeing and productivity with environmental and sustainability ambition. The Black & White Building has been built to meet the demands of tomorrow, from the materials of today. This boundary pushing building will be central London’s tallest mass timber office on completion and sets a new benchmark for sustainability, demonstrating that timber is not only a viable alternative to the conventional concrete and steel traditionally used to build offices, but when it comes to performance and sustainability, it is actually the preferable option. Carefully considered design and material choices have created a building that has minimised carbon in both its construction and its operation. The simplicity of this fully engineered timber structure, belies its ground-breaking innovation. Material use has been optimised with each component designed to be as efficient as possible, resulting in an honest design without excess. A life cycle analysis of The Black & White building has demonstrated that the use of structural timber rather than concrete has reduced the embodied carbon by 37%. Additionally there is over 1,000 tonnes of CO2e stored within the structure of the building, which will remain in the timber so long as it is in use. This is equivalent to 55% of the embodied carbon of the building. As well as minimising embodied carbon, the design also addresses operational carbon, ensuring client businesses both reduce their carbon footprint, and save on energy costs. The state of the art timber structure is framed by a glazed curtain wall, with solar shading provided by a second skin of vertical timber louvres. A parametric model simulating the movement and impact of the sun against the façade determined the layout and form of the louvres. The positioning of the louvres as they ascend the building, tracks the sun’s movement over the course of the day providing natural shade, reducing solar gain on the façade and boosting the natural light reaching the interior; minimising reliance on carbon heavy mechanical ventilation and heating systems. Internally The Black & White Building has been consciously designed to encourage interaction and collaboration, enabling people to connect through a variety of spaces in multiple ways. Lounges of various sizes and layouts are found throughout, as well as plentiful break-out areas and pockets of outdoor space, culminating in a decked rooftop terrace offering spellbinding cityscape views. On the lower-ground floor, beside the indoor courtyard is a dedicated yoga and barre studio which will host a timetable of wellness activities focused on holistic health. As with the exterior, every feature of the internal space is functional and honest, echoing the emphasis on timber as the structural essence of the building - the environmental credentials are clearly written into the materials. The entire building is visibly sustainable. The sensory impact of the natural materials used throughout the space is significant and creates a contemporary-cathedral like quality, leaving visitors with a sense of overwhelming optimism about the building.