London Borough of Tower Hamlets

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets wanted to move offices so they could bring all their departments under one roof. Because the project was government funded and for a local authority, the work had to be tendered through an OJEU (Official Journal of the European Union) notice, and we were asked to pitch.

OJEU tenders are evaluated against lots of different criteria – from value for money to quality. Our unique environmental credentials were a major selling point, as was our experience of building offices which comply with both health and safety, and disability discrimination laws.

The main reason we won the project, though, was the hard work we put in to helping the Borough visualise their new space: we designed the fifth floor as a kind of ‘test floor’ so they didn’t have to commit to work on the other floors until they were happy with our proposals, and we drew up visuals, built mock-ups and organised site visits before we had even won the job. The Borough is now thrilled with their new office. With its bright open spaces and floor-to-ceiling windows, it is a place they can be really proud of.