Brunel Building, Paddington, London

Architect	Fletcher Priest
Date Built	Completed 2019
Location	1 & 2 Canalside Walk, London W2 1DG
Description
In an article in the RIBA Journal dated November 20, 2019, Jan-Carlos Kucharek says in rather colourful language that, "... In the valley of dinosaurs that is Paddington Basin, there’s a new predator in town. Standing out from the generic silver-clad, green-glassed offices, whose facades form the dead gorge through which the Grand Union Canal now diminutively angles its way, Derwent London’s Brunel Building seems more purposeful. An eye-catching diagonal steel exoskeleton and shock of orange, it appears on its haunches, ready to spring at Brunel’s 1854 Paddington station, just out of reach on the canal’s southern bank." Kucharek is referring to Fletcher Priest's £116m Brunel Building with its 71m high exoskeleton Fletcher Priest point out that, "... The site was particularly challenging, with very tight geometry and the added complication of two tunnels of the Bakerloo tube line running below. Overcoming the challenges of building next to a canal and over a functioning underground railway line required a different way of thinking about the form of the building. Working with structural engineers from Arup, the innovative diagrid exoskeleton mitigates those challenges while providing column-free floorplates and 20% shading to the façade, helping to reduce energy demand. It also offers improved access to light and minimal visual intrusion to the views around Paddington Basin." They add that the building was 100% pre-let prior to practical completion.