245 Hammersmith: Where Business Meets The Community

Simon Wilkes

245 Hammersmith Road delivers an inspiring environment with first-class facilities that can be enjoyed by both employees and local people

If you live in Hammersmith, the new 245 development is hard to miss. It has 11 storeys, 242,000 sq ft of flexible workspace, a piazza and an Urban Park that can accommodate two football pitches. Oh, and it’s red!

Dubbed The Big Red Workplace courtesy of its façade – the colour comes from the red angled window surrounds – it is officially called 245 Hammersmith. ‘We acquired the site in 2014,’ recalls Simon Wilkes, Legal & General’s Head of Business Space Development. ‘It was unusual in that it had so much outdoor land; that gave us the opportunity to design a sustainable building in which businesses can thrive but which also has accessible areas, like the Park, that can be used by the community.

‘Today, companies require locations that motivate their staff and which foster employee welfare. Our aim at 245 was to create an architecturally exciting space that allows people to work, relax, socialise and network in many different ways. Added to that, we provide state-of-the-art systems and technology, a dedicated concierge service, a programme of health and wellness classes and superb facilities, ranging from landscaped roof terraces and an in-house café to secure cycle spaces and showers and changing rooms.’

SimonWilkes, CarleyBright, LegalandGeneral, MitsubishiEstate, CBRE, BBNPParibasRealEstate, BNP, Paribas, Real Estate — **Carley Bright**

Carley Bright is 245’s General Manager and she and her team are responsible for running the building on a day-to-day basis and arranging an events calendar. ‘A key part of Carley’s brief is to engage with people in the area,’ explains Simon. ‘So, everything that happens here, whether it is a pop-up market, open-air film screening or acoustic gig, is open to both our occupiers and our neighbours.

‘We believe 245 will deliver new employment opportunities and £28 million of social value to Hammersmith. I hope residents will use our meeting rooms, pop into the coffee shop and visit the park. We don’t want the building to be solely for those who work here: we intend to play an active role in local life.’