GSK, London

Situated in the heart of Central London, GSK’s new 150,000 sq ft office is home to approximately 3000 staff and in close proximity to the fast-growing global Life Sciences Hub in London.

The move sees the global biopharma company return to Central London from their previous Brentford HQ and will “help GSK achieve ambitious sustainability targets.”

The Requirement

Such targets were clear from the start of this project. GSK were prioritising an “accessible, inclusive and sustainable” workspace and looking to achieve BREEAM Outstanding.

Overbury approached us to work on the project due to our strong working relationship with the commercial team, having successfully delivered on many of their major projects.

This unique approach to procurement allowed us to get involved with the project from the very early stages. Our Sales and Specification teams assisted with designing a scope of works and shading solution that would help GSK achieve their targets.

Fully automated roller blinds were required across 10 floors of the building, together with curtains for acoustic and privacy purposes.

Our Solution

Such a focus on automation within the design was refreshing to see and allowed us to deliver our fully automated S3 Synchronised Solar Shading system, controlling over 560 roller blinds.

We designed, manufactured and installed our own range of KNX control options, linking into a weather station and room setting plates throughout the building, and over 250 curtains on a variety of Silent Gliss tracks.

Paired with Kvadrat’s Eco fabric, our S3 system created a fully sustainable and operationally energy efficient shading solution. Furthermore, the saving on cabling and containment that our S3 system provides ensured a reduction on embodied carbon at the installation phase.

The Installation

Two areas required particular attention to detail during installation. Firstly, bespoke support brackets were required to fix to the unistrut on Level 7, due to a large curved window on one elevation. Meanwhile, as the curtains were to be installed on recessed tracks, we worked closely with the ceiling contractors to align with their schedules.

Alongside an embodied carbon reduction, we achieved a snag free delivery. Project Manager, Lloyd Palmer, was delighted with the outcome:

The installation at GSK is one I’m particularly proud of and is testament to the hard work of our installation team, Neil Solomons and Vilius Plavinskas from Overbury, and the other sub-contractors on site.

Technical Director, Russell Keegan, echoed this sentiment:

The delivery team from Overbury are one of the best out there and the finish they have achieved on the project is amazing. Every member of our team on the job had great things to say about the work environment on site and the care that went into making it a great place to work. GSK were a fantastic client to work for and a delight throughout the process whenever we needed to contact them.

If you’d like to discuss full automation through our S3 system, contact us here and our expert team will be happy to assist.