Skanska’s project team working on The Marq in London’s St James’s, has reached a significant milestone for its customer, The Crown Estate.
The prestigious scheme features 35,000 sqft of office space arranged over the first to sixth floors with 11,000 sqft of retail and restaurant space at ground and basement levels.
The team, which includes design consultants, Rolfe Judd (architects), Waterman Group (structural engineers) and Watkins Payne Partnership (services engineers) achieved practical completion on 26 March 2019, which means there are no outstanding defects – excluding minor items or snags – and the building can be used for its intended uses.
After planning consent was achieved by John McAslan and Partners in January 2016, The Crown Estate appointed Rolfe Judd to develop the detailed design of the building.
The development features three pieces of bespoke artwork by Jacqueline Poncelet, with two external elements – splay corner and gates – being complemented by an interior wall-based artwork.
The building is on target to achieve a BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rating for the office space and a WELL Building Core and Shell Gold certification.
Richard Kirkpatrick, Project Director, commented: “Handing this project over on time, within budget and to such a high standard is a fantastic achievement. Working together with all of our stakeholders has created a strong working ethic that has delivered our customer’s requirements and it’s a building that they can be proud of.”
Simon Perks Senior Development Manager at The Crown Estate, said: “We are delighted to have completed The Marq, the only new office development to be launching in St James’s in 2019. This will become one of the UK’s first WELL Certified Core and Shell buildings, with the design focused on promoting positive health, wellbeing and productivity outcomes for all of our customers.”
Richard Whitehead, Board Director of Structures at Waterman, said: “This has been a complex project at a busy location with several constraints on the site. It has been an exciting project for us, involving creative engineering in close proximity to nearby buildings and busy streets. The structural works have gone very smoothly thanks to close collaboration between all parties. The project is a great credit to all involved.”
Throughout the project, the team engaged with several local charities and raised funds for the Snow Leopard Ward at Evelina London, a children’s hospital which is part of Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London. The team also volunteered their time to help local charities like Groundwork.