How we made it: Timber Square

Timber Square is the reinvention of a large Southwark site, offering 52,000m² of office accommodation split over two building; The Print Building, an existing 1950’s print works to the east of the site retains 80% of the original structure with six additional storeys. The smaller west building is replaced by The Ink Building, a new 15-storey structure plus basement.

Placing low-carbon materials and sustainable construction methods at its heart, Timber Square is set to achieve Net Zero Carbon in both operation and construction, aligning with the UKGBC Net Zero Carbon Buildings Framework.

• Location: Southwark, London
• Client: Landsec
• Architect: Bennetts Associates
•  Size: 52,026 m²
• Stage: In Construction
• Time Frame: 2019-2025

CLT & Steel Hybrid Frame

The CLT spans 6m onto steel beams, creating a generous column grid, it is quick to erect with no wet trades. As well as achieving a 30% reduction in embodied carbon and 15% reduction in weight compared to a typical new-build construction.

Detailed design considerations required, including acoustics, fire, insurance, and vibration performance at scale. Rigorous fire testing was undertaken to ensure the structure would self-extinguish in the event of a fire.

Roofs & terraces

An innovative solution to minimise risk of damage due to leaking from the roofs and terraces was to use concrete slabs cast onto 60mm CLT permanent formwork.

 

Transfer structure & foundations

The Print Building column loads are increased by up to 200%. Transfer structures distribute the additional loads into existing foundations with spare capacity.

Drilling new piles would be difficult and costly, instead new RC pads are inserted into the existing raft foundation, spreading the additional loads onto the ground underneath the raft.

To reduce whole-life carbon of the Ink Building, the foundations are designed to accommodate a further four storeys for future development.