“Thames Tower is so much more than just another smart office building. It distinguishes itself through the creative re-use of the skeleton of its predecessor, the huge contribution it makes to the public realm, and the refined purity of its architecture.” – RIBA Judges 2018
Awards
Winner RIBA South Awards 2018, RIBA Sustainability Award
Winner RIBA South Awards 2018, RIBA South Award
Winner BCO Regional Awards 2018, South of England & South Wales, Refurbished / Recycled Workspace
Winner OAS Development Awards 2018, Best Refurbishment / Regeneration outside Central London
Special Mention Architizer A+ Awards 2018, Commercial-Coworking Space Finalist AJ Architecture Awards 2018, Workplace (above 20,000sqm) of the Year
Finalist Blueprint Awards 2017, Best Non-Public Commercial Project
Winner Thames Valley Property Awards 2017, In-town Development of the Year
Winner Structural Steel Design Awards 2016
The centre of Reading, in the heart of the beating central commuter square, Thames Tower announces itself, a vibrant, symmetrical, terracotta giant. Taking Louis Sullivan’s Guaranty Building in Buffalo, New York – one of the world’s first skyscrapers – as inspiration, the pioneering refurbishment has established a new forward-thinking identity for the community of Reading.
The transformation has been remarkable. From a weary, obsolete 1980s office block it has been reinvigorated into an innovative, vibrant, contemporary workplace, attracting progressive companies looking for uplifting and thought-provoking premises.
With a five-storey steel framed extension, an enlarged footprint on each floor and a striking re-cladding in terracotta, the red ochre hue of which takes cues from the surrounding Victorian brick buildings, the tower is certainly turning heads.
The office areas at Thames Tower have been designed to be occupier friendly, offering flexible tenant fit-out options, which enable tenants to change the layout of their space as their businesses evolve.
At the top of the building the 267sqm communal space, ‘The Roost’, offers stunning views and has been designed to have the feel of a stylish members’ club enabling occupiers to utilise the space to meet, socialise, work away from their desks and host a range of amenities from entertainment and welfare to workplace functions.
The refurbishment has also hosted many community events, including coffee giveaways, well-being classes and ‘The Roost’ has provided valuable event space for the University of Reading and local businesses. This community integration has helped embed the building – which had been empty for some time – back into the fabric of the town centre.