image courtesy of KPF
Event Description
The presentation will use a selection of case studies designed by KPF, to illustrate the practice’s approach of ‘reuse, reimagine, extend, transform’.
The escalating climate challenge questions whether we should be building anything new at all. But to prosper, cities need to continue to evolve – their homes and workplaces must be vigorously renewed. To address this paradox, KPF starts with the assumption that we need to preserve existing urban fabric and, where possible, break the carbon-intensive cycle of demolishing and replacing outdated buildings on a 20–30-year cycle.
The talk will cover a broad range of projects, such as the pioneering transformation of Southbank Tower, a redundant single-use office tower given new lease of life as a vibrant mixed-use development; Panorama St Paul’s which is turning an outdated, mono-use office into a leading contemporary workplace on a new square in the City of London (soon to become the global Headquarters for HSBC) and the hybrid redevelopment of Hudson Commons in New York, which radically improves an existing building and adds density in an appropriate location. Throughout the talk, John will explore the potential for sustainable development that improves the wider city.
CES: 1 LU/ HSW for AIA Members
Speaker
John Bushell, RIBA, Principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox
Moderator: Alex Miller, AIA, Past President, AIA UK, Past Secretary, AIA International
Speaker Bios
An advocate for architectural reuse, John Bushell has led some of KPF’s most important transformation projects.
At Unilever House, a Grade II Listed exterior was preserved whilst completely modernizing the interior to meet the demands of the contemporary workplace. South Bank Tower, saw the conversion of a 1970s office tower into a mixed-use development on London’s South Bank. In the city of London Panorama St Paul’s, a landmark building close to the iconic cathedral, is currently on site as part of the redevelopment that will become the new global headquarters for HSBC.
John starts each project with rigorous analysis and, while each project is different, some common themes emerge such as retaining embodied carbon, increasing floor area, and creating some of London’s largest roof terraces.
Drawing on KPF’s global expertise, John has incorporated the tenets of mixed-use design into high-profile buildings, including One Crown Place in Hackney (winner of CTBUH Best Tall Building Europe, in 2022) and DAMAC Tower in Nine Elms.
Moderator: Alex Miller is a Senior Associate Principal at KPF, and provides leadership and technical skills to numerous projects often involving the interweaving of historic buildings and contemporary architecture. He has been involved in long-term with the design and delivery of multiple projects involving listed buildings in Covent Garden including the London Film Museum, the 2020 AIA National award-winning Floral Court mixed-use development, and the cast-iron framed Carriage Hall.
He enjoys complex projects at various scales and has experience collaborating with large teams in the delivery of projects. He is currently working on a 40-storey student residential accommodation tower adjacent London Bridge Station.
He is a past President of the American Institute of Architects UK Chapter and a past Secretary of AIA International.
