News Corporation today announced that it has submitted a planning application to the London Borough of Tower Hamlets for the re-modelling of the main building at its historic site in Wapping. News Corporation commissioned Amanda Levete Architects to design the building and worked with planning consultants DP9 to prepare the application.
The plans, if approved, will bring new life to the Wapping site which played a pivotal role in the transformation of the newspaper industry in the 1980s. The project will create a unique working environment that will bring together News International, Harper Collins, MySpace, Dow Jones, Fox and related businesses under one roof for the first time.
The plans aim also to regenerate the local area, opening up the site through the creation of publicly accessible walkways and creating new public space at the eastern end of the site, with a museum, restaurants and retail units.
The re-modelled building will set new standards in working environments and sustainability and will be one of the largest naturally ventilated office buildings in the UK. The proposal for the building includes an 18m high atrium carved out of the original print works with a series of other atria along main circulation paths to maximise natural lighting and ventilation.
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