Three in £150m race to revamp Islington landmark

Three firms are expected to find out by February who has won a £150m scheme to rework a postmodern landmark in Islington, north London.

Plans by AHMM to transform the early 90s Angel Square development, which was designed by Rock Townsend Architects, were approved in September – despite protests from heritage groups.

The proposals, designed for US investor Tishman Speyer, will see the building’s external features, which include an Italianate campanile-style clock tower, stripped away and replaced with a glass facade.

Others working on the scheme include T&T as project manager, Core 5 as QS, AKT II as structural engineer and ChapmanBDSP as M&E consultant.

Multiplex, McLaren and Skanska are wrapping up post tender interviews for the job with a winner due by early February. “Everyone is going hard for this one,” said one source. “That will be the case on jobs like these for the next six to nine months as contractors look to fill order books.”

Angel Square’s current three blocks provide 15,000 sq m of office space and a pub, on the corner of Torrens Street and City Road. The building also includes the entrance to Angel Station on London Underground’s Northern line.

The plans propose adding new storeys and increasing the office floorspace by around 7,000 sq m.

Save Britain’s Heritage and the Twentieth Century Society had both objected to the makeover but Islington’s design review panel had concluded that the building, formally named 1 Torrens Street, “falls well short of the required design qualities deserving of protection, including listing”.

The scheme was OK’d by Islington councillors who praised its sustainability credentials and public benefits such as affordable workspace.