London – Page 9 – PLP Architecture

Wearables in the Workplace: Measuring health and wellbeing in the office

Wearables in the Workplace investigated how wearable technologies, such as fitness wristbands and posture scanners, can be used to monitor occupant health and wellbeing in office environments. It considered the current state of wearable technologies, explored possible future uses and applications, and also examined how this all could impact the wider technology industry, workplaces, individual health and wellbeing, and the built environment. To help augment the research, PLP Labs ran an in-house pilot study in which wearables were used to monitor test subjects’ vital signs across different office and home-working scenarios.

Know Your Health – Empowering citizens to create healthy cities

PLP Labs, Centric Lab, and Comuzi have united to introduce ‘Know Your Health,’ an online platform paired with a downloadable guide aimed at enhancing urban health and wellbeing. This initiative leverages a simple, anonymous survey to offer personalised advice, helping individuals navigate and improve their health against the backdrop of city living. The project further extends its impact by offering a ‘Playbook’ that delves into seven critical areas of urban health, from housing to social spaces, enriched with actionable steps, case studies, and resources. Beyond individual benefits, ‘Know Your Health’ collects anonymised data to inform and influence equitable urban development, spotlighting the nuanced effects of environment on health and advocating for inclusive, community-focused design and policy decisions.

Eighty Eight Wood Lane, London, UK

As part of Imperial College London’s master plan for Imperial West at Wood Lane in West London, we are designing two buildings: a technology transfer building and a 35-storey residential tower. The new residential building will combine private and key worker accommodation including apartments for lecturers, researchers and trainee doctors and their families to help attract and retain the college’s key staff.

Whitechapel Estate, London, UK

London’s Whitechapel is a vibrant, historic and ethnically-diverse district known for its street markets. Unlike neighbouring Aldgate which borders the City of London and which had witnessed significant private development in the past few years, development in Whitechapel has revolved mainly around the new Royal London Hospital and the construction of associated research and medical facilities. This is now set to change when the new Crossrail station opens in Whitechapel, significantly increasing its connectivity to other parts of London and attracting new residents.

The Collective Stratford, London, UK

PLP Architecture have partnered up with the Collective to conceive a new model of housing called ‘co-living’ which is tailored to suit the changing lifestyles of young people living and working in London. A significant proportion of Londoners can no longer afford to rent or buy in the current housing market. Often, they are forced to rent substandard accommodation from part-time landlords who are not concerned with the quality of housing provided. This limits housing choice, pushing London’s workforce into substandard accommodation in areas they would not choose to live (i.e. away from their place of work). The Collective offers a new alternative to those who are being edged out of London’s housing market, a place to live which is designed with their needs in mind, offering communal facilities and a mixture of uses along with new typologies of apartments which are financially accessible.

100 VE – Unilever London HQ, London, UK

Unilever London Headquarters (100 VE), a landmark structure overlooking Blackfriars Bridge and the River Thames, was completed in 1931 and listed in 1977. While distinguished on the exterior, the plan of the building was cramped, with a series of narrow fingers overlooking dark and dreary light wells to the rear. The interior was highly compartmented, with narrow circulation corridors that had evolved over time as areas were modified. Staff restaurant and breakout spaces were in the basement, visitors met in windowless rooms at ground floor, and generally the interiors were cut off from the stunning panoramic views.

Salesforce Tower, London, UK

Heron Tower is a response to a clearly identified need for highly serviced modern office space for international companies at the heart of London. The site, at the junction of Bishopsgate, Houndsditch and Camomile Street, has been a significant gateway to the City of London since Roman times. Responding to the technical and social demands of the new workplace, the building is arranged around a series of three story atria or villages, which will serve as gathering spaces for thirteen different tenants in the building.

Two Kingdom Street, London, UK

Two Kingdom Street is part of Paddington Central, a mixed use scheme developed on the site of the old goods yards to the northwest of Paddington Station. The building is set between the busy elevated Westway and, to the south, the quieter environment of Kingdom Street, the landscaped spine of the development.

This changes everything: An investigation into the evolving responsibilities of the Built Environment sector in a post-pandemic world

PLP Labs and PLP Architecture continued to operate through the COVID-19 pandemic, adopting like many others new ways of working internally and with our partners. We used this global disruption as an opportunity to not only continue the high calibre work that we always strive to produce, but to learn from the changing world, produce better work and enhance the ways that we create the built environment.

27 Old Bond Street, London, UK

The DKNY store at 27 Old Bond Street was the first Donna Karan flagship store. The building is a radical reconstruction, retaining only the facades of the existing 1920s building adjacent to the listed Royal Arcade.