Today, I had the pleasure of joining teams from British Land, GIC, Sir Robert McAlpine and future tenants to celebrate the ‘topping out‘ of 1 Broadgate. Topping out is an important milestone in the building’s development, as the structural building process completes.
We assembled on a cold, wet and windy Level 10 to enjoy stunning views across the City and beyond. In keeping with Sir Robert McAlpine’s traditional Scottish roots, bagpipe music marked the start of the process before the symbolic pouring of concrete to seal the building’s structure and the nailing of an evergreen bough.
We heard that some 70,000 tonnes of muck had been removed from the site and 5,000 pieces of re-used steel had been constructed. The site had housed up to 900 employees on site during the build and so far amassed 1.3 million man hours. It has also – pretty remarkably given construction inflation – remained on time and on budget!
When complete in 2025, 1 Broadgate will create some of the most sustainable mixed-use space in London. And as early adopters of the NABERS rating, British Land are able to demonstrate a sustainability commitment that extends well beyond this date. You can read more about that here.
Broadgate has become the City of London’s epicentre with 11.6 million people travelling through it per hour. It is well positioned to capture the highest possible footfall 7 days a week, supporting the City of London’s Destination City strategy.
