Bracken House, London EC4

Client: Obayashi Corporation

JRA has retrofitted Bracken House in the City of London for Obayashi Corporation. Originally designed by Albert Richardson in the early 1950’s as the headquarters and print works for the Financial Times, the building underwent a dramatic reconstruction in 1988 by Michael Hopkins and Partners.

After a quarter of a century of use, JRA has sensitively refurbished the Grade II* listed building. The building has been altered to provide an enlarged entrance hall, new internal courtyards which link the central office space with the 1950’s wings, and a landscaped roof garden with a running track. The offices have been completely modernised with a new energy efficient air conditioning system and state-of-the-art LED lighting. Additional daylight has also been introduced into the atrium by partially glazing the atrium roof.

JRA worked closely with ARUP to plan the refurbishment and used Building Information Modelling level two for design coordination and manage clash detection. The finished model contains over 27,000 items charting every aspect of the construction, which will enable repairs and replacements to be carried out with ease in the future.

After an absence of almost 30 years, the Financial Times has now returned to Bracken House as its new headquarters.