PLP Architecture is an architecture firm based in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. In June 2016, the firm received planning permission for

22 Bishopsgate 22 Bishopsgate, also known as Twentytwo, is a commercial skyscraper in London, England. Completed in 2020, it occupies a prominent site in Bishopsgate, in the City of London financial district, and stands at tall with 62 storeys. The project ...

, the tallest tower in the City of London.

History

The firm was founded by Lee Polisano, former President of the American firm

Kohn Pedersen Fox Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates (KPF) is an American architecture firm that provides architecture, interior, programming and master planning services for clients in both the public and private sectors. KPF is one of the largest architecture firms in ...

(KPF), David Leventhal, former KPF Senior Partner, and Fred Pillbrow, Karen Cook and Ron Bakker, all former KPF Partners, following their departure from the firm's London office in 2009. Pilbrow soon left the start-up to start his own firm.

Projects

The Edge

In 2015, PLP completed the world's most sustainable office building according to the

Building Research Establishment The Building Research Establishment (BRE) is a centre of building science in the United Kingdom, owned by charitable organisation the BRE Trust. It is a former UK government national laboratory that was privatised in 1997. BRE provides resear ...

(BRE), The Edge, in Amsterdam. Bloomberg has also called the Edge, "the smartest building in the world".

22 Bishopsgate

In June 2016, PLP received planning permission for

, which will be the tallest tower in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

, a 62-storey multiple tenancy office tower developed by a consortium led by AXA Real Estate. The building is expected to provide workspaces for nearly 12,000 people, and to be the first building in London to be WELL Certified, a building rating system focused on human health and wellness.

Collective Old Oak

In May 2016, PLP completed Collective Old Oak, the world's largest co-living building. In addition to 546 co-living rooms, the project includes co-working, community and retail spaces on the lower floors, as well as two terraces and amenity spaces.

Sky Headquarters

Opened in December 2016, the headquarters for Sky UK accommodates over 3500 employees in a large, sky-lit warehouse-like space, covered by the largest timber roof in the UK. The project has received multiple awards including 'Best New Workplace' by New London Architecture.

Four Seasons Abu Dhabi

In February 2016, the Four Seasons Abu Dhabi, designed by PLP, opened on Al Maryah Island overlooking the

Louvre Abu Dhabi The Louvre Abu Dhabi ( ar, اللوفر أبوظبي; french: Louvre Abou Dabi) is an art museum located on Saadiyat Island in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. It runs under an agreement between the UAE and France, signed in March 2007, that a ...

. Inspired by the textiles of the souk, the building is clad in a colorful pattern of vertical terracotta baguettes that shield the rooms from direct sunlight.

Other notable projects

In 2016 the practice completed the new biomedical research facility for the Medical Research Council, The Francis Crick Institute north of the

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom and is one of the largest libraries in the world. It is estimated to contain between 170 and 200 million items from many countries. As a legal deposit library, the British ...

, together with HOK. Their commercial development at Nova Victoria in London's City of Westminster (for which they also prepared the masterplan) won the 2017

Carbuncle Cup The Carbuncle Cup was an architecture prize, given annually by the magazine ''Building Design'' to "the ugliest building in the United Kingdom completed in the last 12 months". It was intended to be a humorous response to the prestigious Stirlin ...

for the ugliest building in the United Kingdom. Projects under construction, among others, are: the new

Crossrail Crossrail is a railway construction project mainly in central London. Its aim is to provide a high-frequency hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system crossing the capital from suburbs on the west to east, by connecting two major railway l ...

over-site development at

Bond Street tube station Bond Street is a London Underground and Elizabeth line station in Mayfair, in the West End of London. Entrances are on Oxford Street, near its junction with New Bond Street, and on Hanover Square. The station is on the Central line, between ...

,. Research projects include; Oakwood Tower research, in collaboration with

Cambridge University The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III of England, Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world' ...

and Smith and Wallwork Engineers, a study into wooden skyscrapers and CarTube, a mobility concept which combines two existing modes of transport, automated electric cars and mass transit, into a single, seamless underground road system.

Projects in progress

The company has submitted planning proposals for London's first

Microapartment A microapartment, also known as a microflat, is a one-room, self-contained living space, usually purpose built, designed to accommodate a sitting space, sleeping space, bathroom and kitchenette with 14–32 square metres (150–350 sq ft). Unlike ...

building on Stratford's High Street, the redevelopment of Sampson House and Ludgate House on the southbank next to the

Tate Modern Tate Modern is an art gallery located in London. It houses the United Kingdom's national collection of international modern and contemporary art, and forms part of the Tate group together with Tate Britain, Tate Liverpool and Tate St Ives. It ...

into London's densest residential area, and a 43-storey hotel at 150 Bishopsgate, the first luxury hotel to be built in Central London in 30 years. The firm also designed luxury residential developmen
Mayfair Park Residences
located near Hyde Park.

Other clients

In addition to working across the Middle East and Asia, PLP Architecture has worked with some of the most significant land developers in London and the UK, including

Land Securities Land Securities Group plc is the largest commercial property development and investment company in the United Kingdom. The firm became a real estate investment trust (REIT) when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is ...

, Grosvenor,

Heron International Heron International is a British property development company. Founded in 1957 by the Ronson family, it came to prominence in the 1980s as the UK's second largest private company. After over extending itself in the 1990s, it was revived by Gerald R ...

, and Mace Group. Other clients include the

Qatar Foundation Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development ( ar, مؤسسة قطر) is a state-led non-profit organization in Qatar, founded in 1995 by then-emir Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and his second wife Moza bint Nasser. Qatar Founda ...

Mubadala Mubadala Investment Company PJSC ( ar, شركة مبادلة للاستثمار), or simply Mubadala, is an Emirati state-owned holding company that acts as a sovereign wealth fund. The company was established in 2017 when then-named Mubadala Dev ...

Burberry Burberry is a British luxury fashion house established in 1856 by Thomas Burberry headquartered in London, England. It currently designs and distributes ready to wear, including trench coats (for which it is most famous), leather accessorie ...

and King's College London.

Office locations

The firm's offices are located in the 1930s Art Deco Ibex House building in the City of London, which also houses the Fairtrade Foundation, while it also maintains an office in Beijing and Tokyo.

Awards

London's Nova Victoria mixed-use development by PLP Architecture won the 2017

, described by award panelist Catherine Croft as a 'crass assault on the senses'.

References

{{reflist, 30em British companies established in 2009 Architecture firms based in London 2009 in London 2009 establishments in England