Gianni Botsford Architects : 055 : Tolworth Tower Refurbishment

We aim to create an architecture of local adaptation; to climate,
environment and culture.

Our approach is to attempt to avoid falling into preconceived solutions to design problems through a process of detailed analysis of site and brief prior to any design phase, and have experience in many sectors and at all scales - from master planning to product design. Working with an extensive range of consultants, teaching, and collaborations with architects, craftsmen and artists, all enrich the outlook of the studio.

Press » | People »


Client Treasury Holdings Properties Ltd Budget £ 5.1M Status Completed Environmental Engineer BDSP Partnership Cost Consultant Tim Gatehouse Associates Structural Engineer Adams Kara Taylor Graphic Designer PKMB Contractor Wates Interiors		Commissioned in the late 90s to master-plan the re-development of Richard Seifert’s Tolworth Tower (1963), we carried out a number of feasibility studies and various projects were undertaken. We explored the option of demolishing the North Wing and build a large leisure complex on the North Western side of the site beyond M&S. The site includes a 22-storey office tower, a low-level office block (the North Wing), 650 parking spaces on four levels, a major Marks and Spencer food store on the ground floor, and a parade of retail units; a 180,000 sq ft leisure facility on four floors above the existing parking decks, consisting of a floor of restaurants and retail spaces, two floors of cinema auditoria, and a top floor health club under a lightweight dome structure. New planning policies for multiplex cinemas proposed a more integrated building approach: screens are positioned side by side, but with angled walls which form a circle when connected together. Smaller screens are stacked over two storeys adjacent to a larger double height stadium type auditorium. One central two-level projection room is able to control all the projection equipment for all 14 screens. After the initial feasibility studies were completed, we refurbished the Tolworth Tower North Wing, which included the complete re-landscaping and signage for the entire site, the refurbishment of 80,000sq ft of office space and reception area; the insertion of a 120-bedroom Travelodge hotel into existing office space; the formation of retail units and a health club plus general maintenance and external refurbishment. The problem of introducing modern day serviced office spaces within a typical 1960’s floor to ceiling height of 2.7m was resolved in a number of ways, and works were carried out in phases subject to pre-lets and in [conjunction] with existing tenants.

© Gianni Botsford Architects 2005