Last month, RIBA South hosted an engaging talk at Thames Tower for their Great British Buildings Series. The architectural talk and tour revealed the stories behind the construction of the building, the inspiration behind the scheme and sought to explain what makes Thames Tower a RIBA Award winner.
Earlier this year Thames Tower was awarded a RIBA South Award and a RIBA Sustainability Award. Thames Tower has been celebrated for the sustainable re-use of its existing concrete frame, the ‘purity of its architecture’ and the ‘huge contribution it makes to the public realm’. The talk, organised by RIBA South for their Great British Building Series, successfully brought many industry leaders together to hear from the architect and developers themselves on how Thames Tower came to be and why it has gone on to win so many awards, including the RIBA Sustainability Award.
Stuart McLarty, Director at dn-a architecture, and James Silver, Managing Director at Landid Property, spoke about what sets Thames Tower apart, not only as a professional space, but as an environment for collaborative engagement within the Reading community and beyond.
James spoke of the vision Landid had for the site and how Thames Tower has become the inspiring, engaging community hub Landid envisioned. Stuart talked us through the technical architectural detail, the construction challenges involved with building on such a tight site boundary and the final contemporary interior details that truly place Thames Tower ahead of the rest. It’s the minute attention to detail and respect of site and context that has enabled Thames Tower to become such a positive beacon for the town and surrounding community.
We were very fortunate not only to have a full room of attendees brimming with interesting questions but we were also graced with a stunning sunset that streamed through the windows. ‘The Roost’ with its wonderful views across the Thames Valley was the perfect venue to host the post talk drinks and networking.
We’d like to extend our thanks to RIBA for organising the talk and tour, to all attendees, and to our client James Silver, Landid Property, for speaking alongside dn-a’s Director Stuart McLarty.