CPNG Work Up New Nottingham Office Scheme

Since those big plans first surfaced back in 2006 for the redevelopment of Nottingham's East Side very little has actually happened.

A few buildings by 3D Reid have been proposed on Lace Way and Poplar Street but no construction has yet started leaving the general area as barren as it was five years ago. All this could be about to change if plans by CPMG Architects for the Oakhill Group get the go-ahead.

The outline application filed at Nottingham City Council relates to a new office building which will contain 18,775 square metres of B1 office space, a further 1,928 square metres of retail space, and 159 parking spaces on a site overlooking Nottingham Canal and the rail bridge of London Road that's only a 2 minute walk from Nottingham's central station.

The waterside location is intended to make it an ideal place for canal side restaurants and cafes to prosper, as well as having the scheme contribute something to the public realm in the area there with a planting programme of new trees, seating along the canal and even a raised pool with cascading water.

CPMG's design features a collection of buildings arranged around a central courtyard with a tower element on the north-western corner of the site with 9 storeys above ground that is massed to avoid overshadowing the shorter neighbouring buildings that bound other parts of the site.

The tower element adds a distinctive look to the scheme with it being made of a glass curtain-walled block floating above the ground floors, diamondesque glazing, and crossbracing behind it. Elsewhere the building has more solidity with TECU copper cladding and pre-cast concrete making up much of the façade.

The current plans are however only an outline application meaning the developer is floating the idea of a scheme of this scale and substance and then if the local council approves they will be able to continue by working up a detailed design.