Panoramic view of a waterfront district and surrounding buildings, featuring residential office-to-residential conversion projects. The waterway meanders gracefully through a vibrant urban environment, where modern and historic structures blend harmoniously, emphasizing the adaptive reuse of spaces for contemporary living.
Exterior view of a modern Residential Concrete Framed Building with large windows, featuring a person on a bicycle and pedestrians walking towards the building, showcasing contemporary urban living in a residential development.

Northern & Shell Tower

Client:
SAV Group

Location:
Canary Wharf, London

Project Size:
209 Apartments

Project Types:
Residential, Built to Rent, Airspace, Adaptive Reuse

SAV Group specialise in the shared living and built-to-rent sector. This development, involving the adaptive re-use of an existing 8 storey office building, is situated in an excellent waterfront location. The existing 1980s building was dated, unfashionable and in need of improvement.  

Initially, we were required to assess the site’s potential for redevelopment. We immediately saw the site’s potential for residential use by extending upwards, adding multiple new storeys. The concrete framed building gave us a solid base to create a quality new residential development. 

The main challenges to the project following this assessment were:  

  • Working within the constraints of existing structure, for example the position of stair cores and lifts.  
  • The design and creation of airspace extensions with minimal impact on adjacent buildings. 
  • Navigation of changes to both Planning and Building regulations over the course of the design development. 
  • Allay concerns from the planning department regarding the suitability of the site for taller buildings. 
Modern Manhattan loft-style interior of a Built to Rent residential building entrance hall. People sitting and chatting in the stylish, adaptive reuse contemporary space, offering a welcoming atmosphere.
Concrete Framed Building in Residential Development with a lush rooftop greenery and leisure area, showcasing how adaptive or change of use enhances nature integration for resident enjoyment.
Manhattan loft-style flat with open layout in Residential Development Built to Rent, highlighting smart functional design.

Our previous success in delivering similar projects involving conversions, reuse and air rights put us in a good position for success with this development. Our holistic redesign transformed the post-modern office block into an attractive waterfront residential building. We provided full architectural services up to the planning stage, including: 

  • Multilevel planning strategy with successful outcomes at the first attempt, using innovative digital tools, including in-house BIM and 3D printed models. 
  • Improved appearance of the existing building, benefitting the local area.  
  • Reduced CO2 emissions and disturbance by reusing the existing structure rather than a new build.  
  • Designed Manhattan loft–style interior concepts to suit built-to-rent demands.  
  • Knowledge of airspace projects allowed the addition of 3 storeys and use of offsite lightweight construction.  

We were able to exceed client expectations in terms of adding value to the development. Efficient design maximised the potential of the existing structure. The LPA were happy with our proposed design solutions and local residents raised no objections, a remarkable success for a project of this scale. We were consistently proactive in design responses to the changing legislative environment, meeting all necessary requirements in time. The end result provided a significant number of much needed new homes in the area, whilst maximising the site value for SAV Group.