Scaffolding for the UK's largest design and build project
The Challenge
One Portsoken Street is a 1980s brutalist landmark in Aldgate, nine storeys and 233,000 sq ft, sitting on the boundary between the City of London and the East End. Alfred Equities’ vision for the building was transformational: gut the interior, fill the vast central atrium to create 20% more lettable space without adding a single floor, replace all external glazing, clean and re-spray the entire façade, and deliver Grade A office space across the whole building.
The atrium presented the most significant structural and access challenge. At nine storeys and 42 metres in height, it had been one of the largest internal voids in Europe. Filling it required the installation of 27 piles at 20 metres depth. Every stage of that structural process needed precise internal scaffolding access to the slab levels, to the walkways between floors, and to areas where demolition works below made ground-supported access equipment unviable.
Externally, the building’s three active street elevations in a dense urban environment demanded heavy-duty gantries across the full perimeter. Materials for the window replacement programme had to be loaded out and passed through openings at the correct floor levels as glazing was removed, keeping the programme ahead of schedule. Traffic management on all three elevations required coordination with Transport for London throughout.
Covid-19 compounded every aspect of the challenge. Labour availability was not guaranteed. New operating procedures had to be implemented at pace. The scale and complexity of the programme meant that any disruption to workforce continuity had an immediate programme impact.
Our Solution
Internal works were delivered first. We installed birdcage scaffolding within the atrium to give trades access across all nine levels of the void, with access scaffolds providing reach to the walkways between floors. Where demolition below the working area made ground-supported equipment unviable, we designed and installed internal cantilevered truss-out scaffolds, allowing operatives to continue working safely above the active demolition zone. Internal beam hoists managed the lifting of steelwork throughout.
Floors were loaded out simultaneously, with materials staged ready for the external phase before internal works were complete, keeping the programme moving without interruption between phases.
For the external programme, we installed heavy-duty gantries to the full perimeter of all three elevations, with traffic management in place across all street frontages. Gangs followed behind the gantry installation, progressing up each elevation systematically. As glazing was removed floor by floor, materials were passed out through the openings at the correct level, eliminating the need for separate vertical logistics and maintaining programme momentum. A beam hoist at road level fed into the gantry system, managing the safe transfer of glazing panels and materials from the street.
Once works reached roof level, shrink-wrap containment was installed as weather protection for the re-spraying programme. Roof-level access scaffolds supported the redecoration works to completion.
Lift shaft scaffolds were installed on client demand as the programme progressed. Our dedicated on-site management team remained on site throughout, providing both parties with the continuity and communication the scale of the project demanded. Night shifts and additional labour resources were deployed to maintain programme when Covid-19 affected workforce availability.
The Outcome
The project was completed in 76 weeks, delivering 233,000 sq ft of Grade A office space – the largest design and build project ever completed in the UK. The atrium infill created a 20% increase in lettable space without a single additional floor being built. The building achieved BREEAM Very Good and WiredScore Platinum certifications, the highest connectivity rating available.
The project received a Considerate Constructors Scheme Gold National Site Award in 2020, recognising exceptional standards across external appearance, community engagement, environment, safety, and workforce management, all delivered in full during a global pandemic. It was also shortlisted for Regeneration Project of the Year at the London Construction Awards 2022, recognising its scale, design quality, and sustainable revitalisation of a complex structure.
BPP Holdings took over 80,000 sq ft across the lower floors as their central London headquarters, in the largest City of London office deal of December 2021. Northeastern University London followed as a further anchor tenant.
One of MR’s longest ever gantry installations, stretching over 90 metres, formed the spine of the external access programme. Delivering it alongside the full internal scaffold infrastructure, through a pandemic and across the most complex design and build programme in the country, was a defining project for the business.
Key Figures
233,000 sq ft · 9 storeys · 42-metre atrium height · 27 piles at 20m depth · 90m+ gantry installation · Full three-elevation perimeter gantries · Internal cantilevered truss-out scaffolds · Atrium birdcage to full height · Internal and external beam hoists · Shrink-wrap weather protection · 20% lettable space increase · BREEAM Very Good · WiredScore Platinum · Considerate Constructors Scheme Gold National Site Award 2020 · Delivered during Covid-19 pandemic