Portfolio

61-65 Holborn Viaduct

Category

Student Accommodation

Location

London

A new home for creativity, culture and entrepreneurship in the heart of the city.

Back in 2019, we were all set to transform 61-65 Holborn Viaduct into a 400-room hotel. The location was perfect, we’d gained planning consent, and all that remained was to get building. Then the pandemic came along and turned these plans on their head.

Everything was put on hold, and during this time we found ourselves thinking about all the potential waiting to be unlocked in this site. Our thinking moved away from commercial and towards residential, and more specifically, towards the pressing need for student accommodation in this part of the city.

We teamed up with the London School of Economics and began the process of turning 61-65 Holborn Viaduct into a 644-unit Purpose-Built Student Accommodation development.

But this was just the start. We knew the site would gain plenty of footfall, and we saw an opportunity to connect the nearby Thameslink with the soon-to-open Museum of London at Smithfield Market via a public walkway through the site.

Working alongside the Creative Land Trust, we decided to give the ground floor a cultural and community use, lining the walkway with a mix of permanent and pop-up shops, which would be leased at a reduced rate to creatives and entrepreneurs, helping them take advantage of the area’s heavy footfall, all while enhancing the neighbourhood’s reputation as a cultural hotspot.

We also incorporated a roof terrace open all year round and accessible via a public lift from the ground floor.

What’s more, we channelled this spirit of conviviality throughout the planning phase, creating Gaia’s Garden, a community garden that occupied the site for almost three months during the summer of 2021.

Built by over 200 volunteers and hosting a whole range of events and workshops spanning everything from climate change talks to live music, dance and theatre, the garden attracted over 2,000 people and funded 25 creative projects along the way.

We also incorporated a roof terrace open all year round and accessible via a public lift from the ground floor.

What’s more, we channelled this spirit of conviviality throughout the planning phase, creating Gaia’s Garden, a community garden that occupied the site for almost three months during the summer of 2021.

Built by over 200 volunteers and hosting a whole range of events and workshops spanning everything from climate change talks to live music, dance and theatre, the garden attracted over 2,000 people and funded 25 creative projects along the way.

ESG

25

creative projects funded

230

volunteer gardeners

10

part-time jobs for young creatives

This creative use of the site during planning, together with the design and delivery of the project, earned 61-65 Holborn Viaduct the award of ‘Real Estate Project of the Year’ at the UK Real Estate, Investment & Infrastructure Forum.

This is so much more than just a development. This is a place rooted in education and creativity, a place for living and learning, for culture and commerce.