Firm： Zaha Hadid Architects

Type： Commercial › Office

STATUS： Concept

Southbank Tower announces partnership with Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to transform the tower’s lobby.

ZHA’s first refurbishment of an apartment building interior introduces a new mezzanine and lift, concierge desk and lighting scheme for the lobby of the repurposed Southbank Tower. One of the UK’s most ambitious renovation projects, the 30-storey office building completed by Richard Seifert in 1972 was converted by KPF in 2015 into a 41-storey mixed-use tower that incorporates two and three bedroom apartments.

The lobby’s design by ZHA draws inspiration from the organic forms of flower petals that overlap to conceal the lobby’s lighting scheme. The fluid curves of the structure house the tower’s concierge on the ground floor, before peeling back at the top to reveal a new mezzanine level which serves as an additional lounge for residents and guests.

The sculptural petals in glass fibre reinforced gypsum and marble furniture pieces within the lobby are formed to precision in an off-site studio using 3D digital fabrication. This process minimises the duration of works in the lobby and disturbance to residents, while also creating original pieces at an architectural scale to a level of detail otherwise associated with intricate, hand-crafted design works.

Incorporating a colour palette and materials informed by the existing building, the lobby marries polished marble and concrete with walnut and leather.

Helmut Kinzler, ZHA project director explains, “The design has evolved from our work reinventing the spaces of art museums and galleries around the world; creating immersive spatial experiences for the Southbank Tower’s lobby that enhance the materiality and volumes of the original structure.”

Construction of the 200 square metre lobby will commence in early 2020 and is due for completion in summer 2020.

This collaboration with ZHA marks the first in a series of brand partnerships for Southbank Tower on behalf of the investment firm which acquired 37 apartments within the building in early 2018.