London’s County Hall Transformed into a Center for Climate Tech Innovation

The fifth floor of London’s County Hall, a vast area that for many years was characterized by the sound of pigeons’ wings, now teems with individuals engaged in discussions over beverages and working on computers. Constructed in the 1920s, this impressive structure, situated across from the Palace of Westminster on the South Bank of the Thames, served as the headquarters for the Greater London Council (GLC). Until 1986, its offices and hallways housed individuals managing the capital’s local governance, but following the GLC’s dissolution by Margaret Thatcher, the premises became empty. Portions of the building have since undergone transformation into tourist destinations, and the location now includes two hotels. Nevertheless, the individuals occupying the fifth floor are engaged in a distinct mission. Andrew Wordsworth, CEO and co-founder of Sustainable Ventures, the organization managing this area, stated, “We have a rule – if you’re not solving climate change, you don’t get in the building.” Established in 2011 to aid climate-oriented technology start-ups, the company relocated to its County Hall premises last year after a £6.5 million refurbishment of the Grade II*-listed structure. It currently asserts its position as Europe’s most extensive hub for climate tech start-ups, hosting over 120 businesses on the fifth floor and approximately 1,000 employees. Mr Wordsworth remarked, “Everybody here has a common purpose. They’re all doing different things, they’re all looking at different sectors, but everybody has that common mission.” Although vestiges of the building’s original 1920s character persist, such as the old office partitions still discernible within the authentic wood parquet flooring, the inside now presents a starkly altered appearance, indicative of the ongoing eco-technology endeavors. In the foyer, a feature resembling a substantial piece of art is displayed on the wall, showcasing curved segments of moss thriving on a grey surface above a drainpipe. Nick Naidu, founder and CEO of Alive Labs, explained that while it might appear to be an unconventional artwork, it is in fact a “living wall” designed to absorb airborne contaminants and contribute to the building’s cooling. “There’s a real drive for ‘green walls’, but green walls are struggling with the challenge, they’re just not quite succeeding. They’re quite costly, they fail a lot of the time and so we saw that there’s a real lack of innovation in this space.” Consequently, his company conceived the concept of employing an alternative type of vegetation. He stated, “We’re working with mosses because they’re quite happy growing in the urban environment. They’ve evolved in London, they’ve survived through our industrialisation period so they’re pretty robust.” For several years, the company has been affiliated with Sustainable Ventures and, similar to other firms collaborating with it, played a role in redesigning the hundred-year-old interior. U-Build is another entity that designed the industrial-style office areas, meeting capsules, and workstations. Hannah Towler, an associate with the company, clarified, “It’s all made out of plywood in this particular project, which makes it very sustainable as it’s renewable material.” The setup incorporates substantial wooden panels secured by bolts, eliminating the need for attachment to the concrete walls. This design allows for their repositioning and for office layouts to be modified according to evolving requirements. “We’re really aware that the construction industry is particularly wasteful with its use of materials, or it can be. Office fit-outs contribute to a huge part of this and the average [office] tenancy is just two years and 10 months.” She stated, “The key is flexibility, being able to move things, adaptability.” The restrooms themselves present a distinct appearance and auditory experience compared to typical office facilities, equipped with transparent lids constructed from the identical material employed in police riot shields. David Hollander, chairman of Propelair, the company responsible for these units, explained that this design choice stems from the use of 120 liters of air to propel waste into drains, thereby reducing water consumption. “Our toilets use about six or seven litres less water a flush, which saves the planet but it also saves Sustainable significant funds. It’s a much cheaper way of running a toilet, that’s using less water.” He mentioned that the expense of these toilets renders them impractical for residential use, leading the company to promote its products within the commercial sector. “Like everyone else at Sustainable we believe in saving the planet and Propelair saves it one flush at a time.” Not every aspect of the refurbishment has incorporated recently developed technology. Positioned in the center of the office kitchen, beneath light fixtures fashioned from recycled coffee cups, is a substantial wooden table bearing the inscription “James Davies is a snake” alongside various doodles, hearts, and other markings. Previously, this surface functioned as a chemistry workbench in a Hertfordshire school. Additionally, the meeting areas and phone cubicles have been acoustically insulated with airline uniforms formerly utilized by KLM personnel. Mr Wordsworth commented, “It’s great just bringing that to life and just showing that you when you’re looking for building materials, actually reusing stuff can be as good as coming up with a really innovative product as well.” “We’ve got over 70 different sustainable materials and techniques being used across the space.” Mr Wordsworth indicated that County Hall has become a favored location for start-ups, with the facility currently at 99% occupancy. “Our biggest problem is we’re actually turning people away. “We are looking at other spaces in County Hall to expand this space and then obviously building on the experience here to go into Manchester and Glasgow over the next couple of years.” He also expressed optimism regarding the increasing number of companies dedicated to sustainability and addressing climate change. He stated, “Ultimately, the world will run out of new materials and landfill sites and so on.” He added, “That’s why we absolutely see in the long term as we move to a net-zero future, everything is going to have to be sustainable.” For the finest content from BBC Radio London, tune into Sounds, and connect with BBC London on Facebook, X, and Instagram. Submit your story concepts to hello.bbclondon@bbc.co.uk. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC disclaims responsibility for the material found on external websites. Information regarding our policy on external linking is available.