Goldman Sachs Waterhouse Square

About the Project

Waterhouse Square is an existing Grade II listed commercial office building in Holborn, London.  

Built in the 1800s and featuring terracotta and redbrick gothic facades, arches and grand courtyard spaces, Waterhouse Square occupies a special place in the hearts of architectural enthusiasts. Measuring over 400,000 sq ft. and reaching 8 storeys, it is a dramatic and imposing presence adjacent to Chancery Lane. 

Originally built for the Prudential Assurance Company in the late 19th century, it now houses WeWork co-working spaces and commercial offices and houses the critical operations and disaster recovery for Goldman Sachs. It serves as a beautiful reminder of Holborn’s rich architectural history.  

When it came to WeWork finding new offices in central London, the choice was simple. This project consisted of a complete refurbishment and fit-out of all office areas within the basement, ground floor, first floor, second floor, fourth floor and fifth floor.

IN2 was appointed to provide all Mechanical and Electrical design services from RIBA Stage 1-6, including initial building surveys, due diligence, concept design, developed design and technical design. IN2 also performed a key role during construction, including on-site installation monitoring, installation snagging, system operation witnessing reports, and building handover for the client. 

Modern M&E that respects the building’s history 

Due to the listed nature of the building, IN2 also assisted with all heritage, planning and historical aspects related to M&E services throughout the project, ensuring compliance with listed requirements.  

This project presented a fantastic opportunity for IN2 to show its prowess in historical conservation and sustainability by working towards preserving the building’s original features whilst also reducing its overall carbon footprint. IN2 collaborated with conservation specialists, planning consultants, and local authorities to ensure that the proposed M&E design respected Waterhouse Square’s history, protected long-term asset value, and met the client’s brief.  

Given the historical significance and protected status of the building, not to mention its architectural quality, there was no question about whether to preserve all heritage features. It was decided that all existing walls, original windows, ceilings, corridor timber panelling, all high-level heritage tiling, and lighting would be preserved.   

Fact finding and diagnostics

Even before the project began in earnest, some significant challenges were already apparent, foremost of which was a lack of documentation relating to existing building services. IN2 spent weeks on-site to get a better understanding of the existing systems operations, updating any operations and maintenance (O&M) information from up to 40-50 years prior. As the existing complex variable air volume (VAV) strategy was set to remain, there was a great deal of surveying to be done to inform IN2’s detailed M&E design.  

Advanced level of detail

IN2’s detailed installation drawings proved instrumental in keeping the ambitious project on schedule. On-site measurements informed the 3D model which not only set out the exact installations for the contractors but also included detailed instructions for such installations, ensuring a straightforward installation.  

Fast-track delivery

Following the detailed installation drawings was an aggressive fit-out programme that prioritised long lead-time plant and equipment. To speed up the installation process and ensure an on-schedule delivery, parallel coordination was deemed more time-efficient than sequential design. This required efficient project management, regular update meetings, and regular knowledge sharing to ensure key deliverables were completed on time and within budget.  

 Delivery within a live, occupied environment

 One major challenge was delivering the refurbishment and all planned design changes in live occupied environments that needed to remain 100% operable throughout. By carrying out tag and trace surveys and other detailed mapping processes, IN2 could ensure the highest standard of facility management, site safety, and minimise the chance of any potential disruption. 

Increased building densification

In line with WeWork’s brief to increase the capacity of their commercial office, IN2 successfully increased the building densification from 1 person per 10/12 m2 to 1 person per 5m2, effectively doubling intended occupancy whilst still meeting occupancy comfort standards. This was a major success point for the project, but extensive detail design and coordination was required to ensure the required levels of fresh air, power and cooling could work within the confines of the buildings existing base build, plant, risers, roof and ceiling space. 

Not just a pretty face 

Waterhouse Square might be renowned for its dramatic architecture, but it has now proved indispensable when it comes to critical operations and disaster recovery for Goldman Sachs. As part of this major refurbishment project, IN2 were also responsible for upgrading Goldman Sachs’ dedicated UPS spaces for critical financial operations.  

IN2’s contribution to this refurbishment project has made WeWork at Waterhouse Square a pinnacle of occupancy comfort, style, functionality, and data security, and a leader in commercial office standards.  

“Anyone who knows me well knows my love for historic and heritage buildings, so Waterhouse Square was a particularly meaningful project to be involved in. Existing buildings have a huge role to play in the decarbonisation of the built environment, but listed and heritage buildings are often among the most challenging to modernise sensitively. For me, Waterhouse Square is a strong example of how a landmark London building can be adapted to provide high-quality contemporary workspace while preserving the character, fabric and heritage value that make it special in the first place.”

Eddie Beer, Director, IN2 Engineering