10-Story London Development Given Approval

Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) has received approval for a 10-story, 32,965-m² office scheme next to the former Financial Times building on London’s South Bank, Architects’ Journal reports. The practice has been working with developer Landsec since 2018 on plans to replace the 1989 Red Lion Court. The design is described as an arrangement of “jumping blocks” of differing sizes, which will house flexible workspace. The proposals include ground-floor shops, a health center, a pedestrian route and pocket park between the Thames Pathway and Park Street and a new public green space facing the river and the Anchor pub. Although the scheme will be 8-m taller than the existing block, the development had already been lowered to 10 stories following preapplication discussions to minimize the impact on views from Nunhead Cemetery and One Tree Hill. Southwark councilors voted five to one to approve the scheme, although the application will now be referred to the Mayor of London. The team claims the scheme will be net zero carbon “in construction and operation,” and the developer has previously stated that it was targeting the Greater London Authority’s 2030 benchmark of 600 kgCO₂eq/m² GIA. The Red Lion Court development is expected to complete in the second half of 2027.