In December 2020 our Interiors business handed over the £30m Riverside House project in London.

Built in the 1960s, Riverside House, which sits on the bank of the River Thames next to Southwark Bridge gained its distinctive sail during a renovation which completed in 2002. Twenty years later, owner Chiswick High employed us to upgrade the building a second time, adding extra floor space and making changes internally – with several tenants, including watchdog Ofcom, remaining in situ throughout.

Working in a live environment, the Cat A fit out and refurbishment project included the demolition of existing cladding, balconies and parapets before building on the extra floor space and installing new curtain walling. Internally, floors 5 to 8 gained additional space by infilling an existing atrium and adding a rear extension to levels 6 and 7.

Working safely during Covid-19

The project started in June 2019 and reaching practical completion in December 2020. With this timeframe, the site team were required to embrace the Construction Leadership Council’s Site Operating Procedures from March 2020 to implement Covid-19 safe working requirements.

Measures including specialist deep cleans, sanitation stations, one way systems and reallocating all roles that could be performed from home were undertaken to reduce the impact of the virus. The team also prioritised work working around the materials they had available after some suppliers closed during the Spring.