Paradise

A venture to transform the former Costa Roastery on Old Paradise Street, a neglected and disused site in Lambeth, into the UK’s lowest embodied carbon mass timber office development.

Client

Bywater Properties
Architect

Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios
Photography

Andy Stagg, Agnese Sanvito
Size

8,350m²
Completion

2025

Webb Yates collaborated with Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios on the design, providing the structural and civil engineering for over 60,000ft² of office and workshop space.

The structure combines prefabricated cross-laminated timber slabs and cores, glulam beams, supporting steel beams, and a concrete basement and core. The exposed timber frame supports an extruded terracotta façade, with natural light and ventilation maximised throughout.

The mass timber frame was designed to withstand a 90-minute fire and remain standing, a first for a UK building of this type. Extensive fire engineering and testing verified the design, including full-size mock-ups of key elements. All connections were detailed to support high loads, meet stringent fire requirements, and allow full demountability at end of life.

Given the site’s proximity to elevated railway lines serving London Waterloo and Vauxhall, detailed reports and close coordination with Network Rail ensured design and construction posed no risk to the railway’s integrity or operations.

Generous floor heights and flexible open plan spaces support the services strategy to keep in-use energy demand low. A whole-life approach shaped every aspect, from structural connections designed for easy disassembly to a structure that sequesters more carbon than its construction emitted. The project aligns with the UK Net Zero Building Standard embodied carbon limits and achieves BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ and WELL Gold ratings.

Paradise raises the bar for the carbon impact of buildings and supports London’s ambition to become a low carbon city.

Awards

2025

Built by Nature Prize

Commended
2025

Structural Timber Awards

Commercial Project of the Year

Winner
2025

Structural Timber Awards

Project of the Year

Winner
2025

Structural Timber Awards

Engineer of the Year

Winner
2025

New London Awards

Workplaces (Built)

Shortlisted
2025

Offsite Awards

Overall

Winner
2025

Structural Awards

Shortlisted
2025

Wood Awards

Shortlisted
2025

Structural Timber Awards

Pioneer Award

Shortlisted
2025

Offsite Awards

Engineer of the Year

Winner
2025

Offsite Awards

Best Use of Timber Technology

Winner
2025

Offsite Awards

Pioneer of the Year

Shortlisted
2025

Offsite Awards

Commercial Project of the Year

Highly Commended
2025

Building London Planning Awards

Sustainable Planning

Shortlisted
2021

WAFX Awards

Climate, Energy and Carbon

Winner
2020

New London Awards

Working

Winner