The AJ100 practice’s project for UK and US developer Latium involves partially demolishing two buildings at 22 and 24 Southwark Bridge Road and adding extensions to create an 18-storey building for hotel brand AKO.
The scheme retains the foundations of both buildings, plus lower ground and cores. The project would have a whole life carbon figure of 14,400 tCO2e.
As well as hotel rooms, the scheme has four storeys of amenity, including a sky bar, gym, spa and lounge.
At street level, BGY’s scheme features a hotel lobby plus a 408m2 ‘state-of-the-art cultural venue’ providing space for local creatives. Planning documents say this will be run through a curation partnership with Southwark and south London-based creative organisations such as COLAB Theatre and Bankside Gallery.
The scheme is the second recent attempt at redeveloping the two buildings, which are at the northern end of Southwark Bridge Road, one block south of Southwark Bridge.
Early last year, Orms secured planning for an office-led development on the site, backed by Landsec. The scheme featured up to 20,000 m² office space across 12 storeys. Planning documents for the BGY scheme describe Orms’ proposal as ‘unviable, both in terms of delivery and land ownership’.
Latium purchased the site in March and hired BGY to design a scheme for the site.
A practice spokesperson said: ‘It’s a big year for residential at BGY. From retrofit and hotels to co-living, student schemes and residential – including some brilliant new affordable homes – we’re building communities across the board.
The briefs we love most? The ones that come with a few challenges baked in. There’s something deeply rewarding about taking a difficult site – the kind others might quietly sidestep – and reshaping it through design into something thoughtful, joyful and genuinely one of a kind.’
A planning decision is expected this year.