London law court conversion into ‘sky forest’ approved

Plans have been approved to transform Blackfriars Crown Court into a mixed-use office with extra floors and what is claimed to be London’s first urban forest rooftop.The radical revamp of the court building into a next-generation office will see over 100 established trees planted on the one-acre rooftop.Investment manager and developer Fabrix plans to extend the existing two-storey court building to six storeys using a lightweight hybrid steel and CLT frame.Work will start early next year on the 385,000 sq ft workspace, which includes a rooftop restaurant and swimming pool alongside community gardens.Spaced around a large light well atrium, timber-clad office spaces will be built with floor to ceiling heights of between 3.2 and 6m.The design maximises the use of natural light with opening sash windows for natural ventilation, filtered displacement air conditioning, as well as removable timber ?oors to allow maximum ?exibility through the space.Placing the services and cooling in the basement liberates the roofspace to re-introduce trees and create space for a new ‘barn’ meeting space, roof gardens, potting shed and seed bank in the wider roofscape, which has been designed by landscape design practice Harris Bugg.The rooftop exceeds the urban forest criteria set out by the United Nations, providing canopy cover of 23%, uses a passive water capture and irrigation system and reintroduces wildlife to the city.The building is designed to be BREEAM outstanding and rated as WELL Gold under the human health and wellness building assessment system