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Architecture practice tp bennett was awarded the ‘Test of Time’ Award at the British Council for Offices (BCO) National Awards on Tuesday, for its design of PwC’s One Embankment Place offices.

The BCO’s National Awards programme sets out to recognise top quality office design and functionality and sets the standard for excellence across the office sector in the UK. The Test of Time Award was introduced in 2011 to reward previous BCO award winners that have proven themselves to live up to their original aspirations and intentions.

PwC have occupied One Embankment Place since 1991. In need of refreshment, in 2011 tp bennett was invited to create a flexible, sustainable and collaborative workplace and it has become one of the practice’s stand out projects with flexibility and sustainability at its heart.

As a 1990s building there were a number of restrictions in the existing site. However, the tp bennett team took some bold steps to maximise efficiency (by removing on-floor plant to add new WCs) and connectivity (by adding in new lifts and stairs in the atria). A ‘heart space’ or central hub was created on each floor, providing a connection between two atria situated in the south and north of the building. New features such as terraces with gardens were added, and flexible working enabled, with over 4,500 people sharing 3,150 workstations.

Since completion, ways of working have changed dramatically across the corporate sector. The building was initially designed with 3,150 desks for 4,500 people. The current space has 3,133 workspaces for 5,225 people, so the efficiency and use has increased hugely. This is possible thanks to flexible work practices and a building that enables and supports this.

The business has evolved, and PwC found that there were too many offices, the design of One Embankment Place was structured so previous office space could be repurposed into meeting rooms due to logical positioning and layout, with only minimal works required. PwC Financial Services has to be segregated and the base fit-out layout has enabled this easily due to appropriately located clusters of cellular space. PwC Legal is a similar situation. The neighbourhood has enabled this without major changes or construction works, and shared areas near lifts and stairs have facilitated this further.

Sustainability has remained an important aspect of workspace for corporates and talent alike. The project has Highly praised for the best BREEAM sustainability rating achieved to date (an ‘Outstanding’ rating of 96.31%) and feedback from the PwC HR team highlights the high BREEAM rating and innovative use of on-site power generation using recycled chip fat biodiesel is a popular story and a key attraction for environmentally conscious talent.

Richard Beastall, Principal Director at tp bennett said:

“We particularly value the Test of Time award. On all our projects we design with flexibility and longevity in mind. We create workspaces that reflect each organisation’s unique characteristics and company values so they will not date quickly and choose materials and construction methodology that will wear well.

We always consider that businesses are dynamic and subject to change and so create uniquely adaptable offices. We are particularly delighted to have won two prestigious National BCO Test of Time Awards over six years for iconic projects like The Guardian at Kings Place and PwC at Embankment Place.”