Tall & Urban News

A ban on combustible materials on residential buildings taller than 18 meters meant a proposed London project could not move forward with a vegetated façade once the plan switched from a hotel and office occupancy to student housing.

Developer Dominvs Group has now submitted designs by Stiff + Trevillion for a 13-story student housing project at 61-65 Holborn Viaduct to deliver 656 student apartments. 

The initial project to replace an office building on was designed by Sheppard Robson and featured a 3,700 square meter green wall designed by ANS Global planted with 400,000 plants. The scheme would have provided 3,741 square meters of office space, a 382-bed hotel with restaurant and bar, and a publicly accessible rooftop terrace.

The project is not entirely abandoning green elements. Landscape architect JCLA has designed a public rooftop garden with a semi-intensive green roof, a bio-solar green roof, and a water garden.

For more on this story, go to Architect’s Journal.