The pre-construction design and procurement of the fit-out of 30 St Mary Axe for Swiss Re has been awarded, subject to contract, to Skanska’s fit-out company, Kontor Skanska, which has formed a partnership with Gardiner & Theobald Construction Management (GTCM) to carry out the work.
Swiss Re, owner/developer of the Foster designed tower which is rapidly taking shape in the City of London, will also be the new development’s principal first tenant. The company will initially occupy levels 2-15.
“We are all very excited to have won the first stage of this prestigious and unusual fit-out. By combining our skills with those of GTCM we were able to put together a strong bid in a competitive tender, offering the client a fully functional management team across all disciplines, “said Paul Chandler, Kontor Skanska’s managing director.
The fit out, from basement to level 15 of 30 St Mary Axe, covers approximately 250,000 square feet and will include on-floor mechanical and electrical services, IT installations, partitions, carpets and associated finishes. Meeting room suites, with state-of-the-art conference and video equipment, will be located on levels 10, 11 and 12.
Although the building has a circular floor plan, it has been skillfully designed to provide six radial fingers of accommodation on each level to maximise the amount of office space benefiting from daylight and external awareness. The open lightwells between the fingers spiral up the building.
Fit-out work is due to start later this year with completion scheduled for early 2004. Skanska is the main contractor on the shell and core project with mechanical and electrical services being provided by Skanska Rashleigh Weatherfoil.