Brindley Place has become one of the most celebrated examples of inner city redevelopment in the country, and can be seen as the forerunner to Argent’s more recent transformation of Kings Cross in London.

From the outset Argent’s concept was to create a vibrant 24 hour environment and, to this end, completed two new landscaped public squares early, so that the following twelve buildings would benefit from an already mature environment.

SG, under Paul Gibson, were invited to design the first building, facing the main square, which was pre-let to British Telecom.  This headquarters office building is designed around a dramatic longitudinal atrium, open to the floors, with internal terraces facing a full height glazed wall overlooking the square. The main external facades are in brick with relatively small windows, which together with up-flow air conditioning and other innovations result in perhaps the most sustainable office building of its time.

This led to the request for the design of two further office buildings in the complex, each with their own distinct architectural form while using the agreed materials of brick, reconstructed stone and glass. One of these buildings includes five upper floors of residential apartments requiring complex integration of circulation and services.

When the latter two buildings were nearing completion, RBS approached Argent with a request for 400,000ft2 of office space for a new headquarters; and a commission followed for the team to adapt the designs to link them together with a further building designed by Demetri Porphyrios, in order to provide this space.