海角视频

Uber鈥檚 London office

London, UK

Through intelligent reuse and integrated design, 海角视频鈥檚 experts played a key role in transforming Uber鈥檚 vision for a dynamic London office space into a sustainable, high鈥憄erformance reality.

Uber鈥檚 decision to consolidate and expand its London office at Aldgate Tower reflects the company鈥檚 continued growth in the UK and its commitment to a vibrant, connected workplace. The move doubled the technology firm鈥檚 office footprint in the building, with a 10鈥憏ear lease for almost 60,000ft虏 (5,373m虏) across upper floors.

海角视频 worked closely with the wider design team, led by Gensler, to help realise a vibrant, future鈥憄roof environment that supports collaboration, learning and social connection. Our remit covered MEP building services, acoustics and fire engineering through Stage 3, followed by technical oversight during contractor design and delivery. The resulting fit-out repurposed existing building systems wherever practicable, complementing Uber鈥檚 technology鈥憆ich operations, and achieving a sustainable, high鈥憅uality workplace across three floors. 

Aldgate Tower鈥檚 base building already offered strong sustainability credentials, including BREEAM Excellent and an EPC B rating, as well as rooftop renewables and efficient plant. Leveraging this platform, the fitout added targeted upgrades to meet the spatial, utilisation and experience requirements of a modern technology firm office space.

We validated and repurposed existing MEP systems, reducing waste and carbon while meeting Uber鈥檚 ambitious spatial and performance goals.

Our team coordinated MEP with AV, IT and security early, ensuring seamless integration of technology and services for a flexible workplace.

Our experts delivered acoustic and fire strategies that balanced openness with safety and comfort, enabling collaborative spaces.

We achieved LEED Platinum, leveraging and improving upon Aldgate Tower鈥檚 sustainability credentials to create an efficient, high-performance environment for Uber鈥檚 HQ.

Challenge

The project was delivered within a live, multi鈥憈enant building, with two of the three floorplates partially occupied throughout. The imperative was to minimise employee disruption while transforming the workspace and integrating new functions such as events and training spaces, catering, AV, and enhanced IT support. This demanded careful sequencing, robust stakeholder coordination and clear communication with building management and neighbouring tenants. 

A central challenge was to reuse as much of the existing MEP infrastructure as feasible, aligning Uber鈥檚 spatial ambitions with Aldgate Tower鈥檚 established systems. That meant validating legacy plant and equipment, identifying where refurbishment or reconfiguration would be effective, and specifying supplementary systems only where performance, resilience or safety required it. 

Acoustic performance and fire safety had to be engineered carefully around open, flexible collaboration zones, town hall areas and cellular spaces, with the building鈥檚 constraints and Uber鈥檚 technology setup shaping both passive and active strategies. Delivering a distinctive workplace character while preserving the building鈥檚 operational integrity called for precise detailing and integration with base build services.

Solution

At the outset, 海角视频 led a detailed validation of the existing MEP systems and plant serving the relevant floors. This structured assessment established the condition, capacity and performance of key assets and identified opportunities for reuse, reconfiguration and targeted upgrade. The approach enabled a substantial proportion of equipment to be retained and repurposed, reducing waste, shortening programme risk and supporting sustainability outcomes. 

Our Stage 3 design set comprehensive employer鈥檚 requirements for the contractor to develop through Stages 4 and 5. We coordinated security, AV and IT needs with Uber鈥檚 internal teams, ensuring that the core services strategy could accommodate high鈥慸ensity technology, robust connectivity and adaptable events capability. During delivery, we provided client monitoring team duties, maintaining technical assurance as the scheme progressed from design to construction and commissioning. The fitout strategy emphasised reuse wherever possible, aligning with Uber鈥檚 sustainability ambitions. 

The acoustic design balanced openness with intelligibility, including a full assessment of the sound insulation provided by existing separation partitions. Fire engineering addressed evacuation routes and compartmentation consistent with the building鈥檚 configuration, safeguarding occupants without constraining the flexible layout. 

Aldgate Tower鈥檚 high鈥憄erformance base build underpinned the environmental strategy. With photovoltaic arrays and energy鈥慹fficient plant already in place, the fitout achieved LEED Platinum, complementing the building鈥檚 BREEAM Excellent rating, to provide a robust, internationally recognised benchmark for environmental performance.

Value

By validating and reusing existing MEP systems wherever appropriate, the team reduced embodied carbon and avoided unnecessary replacement, contributing to both sustainability and programme certainty. This disciplined approach helped deliver a high鈥憅uality workplace with fewer interventions, demonstrating that intelligent reuse can coexist with ambitious spatial and experience goals. 

The coordinated services design created a workplace that is fit for purpose today and resilient to tomorrow鈥檚 needs. Integrated AV, IT and security deliver seamless connectivity across floors, while acoustic and fire engineering provide comfort and safety without compromising flexibility. The fitout鈥檚 sustainable strategy aligns with the building鈥檚 BREEAM Excellent and EPC B ratings, supporting operational efficiency and tenant wellbeing. 

Ultimately, this is a workplace designed around people. Bright, collaborative spaces encourage teams to come together. It is a setting for innovation, learning and community, enabled by carefully conceived building services and delivered through close collaboration with Uber鈥檚 internal stakeholders and the contractor team.