Bloomberg

London | United Kingdom

Business Area

Exteriors

Brand

Gartner

StatusCompleted

ArchitectFoster + Partners

The Concept

The new European head office of the Bloomberg Media Group in London is a pioneering building complex which utilises unique forms and materials intended to promote the productive collaboration of the company´s employees. Both office buildings, which are situated close to the Bank of England and St. Paul´s Cathedral, are connected with glazed bridges and glass roofs as well as arcades. Façades with curved insulating glazing and specially polished brass sheet metal in bronze hues harmonise perfectly with the surrounding historic buildings. Large vertical wings with brass sheet metal surfaces create the building´s structure and also serve to shade the approx. 46,500 sqm (500,500 sq ft) of provided office space. The ventilation flaps integrated into the façade ensure a natural air flow into the building. The ten-story buildings are not only accessible via a steel ramp with wide steps and a radius of up to 3 m (9.8 ft) but also via three glass panoramic lifts. Open, transparent sections and generous areas, such as the ramp in front of the building, are designed to encourage exchange and communication.

The Spirit
From our first discussions to the final details of the project, Mike Bloomberg and I had a ‘meeting of minds’ on every aspect of the project – its sustainable focus, commitment to innovation and drive to create the best workplace for Bloomberg employees.

Norman Foster, Foster + Partners

The Project

Scope of Work

Design, engineering, manufacturing and installation of glass and metal curtain wall (21,000 sqm / 226,050 sq ft), curved steel and glass façade (3,820 sqm / 41,100 sq ft) for the ground floor, arcade, glass façade, glass roof (1,500 sqm / 16,100 sq ft), stepped ramp clad in bronze, panoramic glass lifts and sliding doors.

Façade partial elevation and horizontal section.

The façade, at almost 21,000 sqm (226,000 sq ft), and also the lifts were designed to be explosion resistant. The ground floor incorporating the rows of shops, visitors centre and the restaurant was clad with curved steel mullion-transom façade, brass sheet metal and curved insulating glass panes. Convex and concave curved insulating glass panes were implemented with highly varied radii for individual areas. The curved insulation glazing achieves dimensions of up to 3,100 mm x 6,800 mm in the visitors centre. The arcades, the glass façades and the glass roof comprise printed insulating glass and sheet metal cladding with reflecting stainless steel sheet metal.
The large vertical wings on the external front of the building are installed at different angles for sun and glare protection and are also intended to optimise natural ventilation. The buildings are vented without creating drafts, and without cooling the building down, via centrally controlled ventilation flaps integrated into the façade.

Fin-type formations on the brass elements in front of the glass level of the façade are utilised to provide the ventilation. Gartner also hereby cladded a 2,580 sqm (27,800 sq ft) steel ramp made of brass sheet metal and a radius with dimensions up to 3 m, as well as three panoramic glass lifts. Brass sheet metal in bronze hues embosses the buildings on the external façades, the vertical wings for shading and the inner areas such as the ramp.

The rows of shops on the ground floor were cladded with 3,820 sqm (41,100 sq ft) of curved steel mullion-transom façade with brass sheet metal, wings made of brass sheeting and other wings of acrylic glass. Their radii vary from 1.5 m to 32 m, which created increased demands on 3D planning as the sheet metal for the internal areas was designed to be partially twisted. The heat-treated, curved insulating glass panes, which were implemented as convex and concave in different radii, have an axial dimension of 1.2 m to 3.5 m.
The visitors centre and the restaurant area were also fitted out with a 380 sqm dimensioned, curved steel-post construction with brass sheet metal. Their curved 3,100 mm x 6,800 mm insulating glass panes with a highperformance coating for sun protection which also improves the daylight usage factor have an axial dimension of 3.2 m with a radius of 13 m.
Arcades, glass façade and glass roofs comprise a 1,500 sqm area with a shed-type roof constructed of saddle roofs and cladding made of stainless steel mirror sheeting and brass. The roof was finished with 8 m x 1.3 m screen-printed discs in laminated and insulated versions, the façades were designed with laminated and insulated versions measuring 7 m x 2.5 m.