Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios’ Paradise SE11 is the UK’s lowest embodied-carbon mass-timber office development
Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios (FCBStudios) has completed Paradise SE11, the UK’s lowest embodied-carbon mass-timber office in the heart of Lambeth, for Bywater Properties. According to the architects, the site, nestled between a railway track and a park and with limited access, presented some challenges for creating a modern, accessible and adaptive workplace. But what came out of it was an ambition to do something special – and a unique opportunity to build the most sustainable workplace in the country.
The resulting six-storey timber-framed building has been designed with a whole-life approach in mind. It is engineered for complete disassembly and reuse, which is a benchmark for circular construction. At the core of Paradise SE11 lies a commitment to designing out complexity. The project team opted for a streamlined, elegant timber structure that prioritises simplicity, adaptability and material honesty. This meant eliminating adhesives in favour of mechanical fixings that allow for future disassembly and reuse.
The decision to expose the timber structure drove a fundamental shift in design thinking. Achieving this required close collaboration between architects, structural engineers, fire consultants and acoustic specialists. Every element, from junctions to finishes, was considered in detail to ensure that the exposed timber met performance standards without compromising its visual integrity or the building’s sustainability goals.
Choosing to build in this way has meant that the structure locks away more than 1,800 tonnes of CO₂ from the atmosphere (equivalent to the carbon emissions of building 24 new homes) while its overall embodied carbon emissions are 35 per cent lower than the RIBA 2030 target.
“Paradise represents a bold step forward in how we think about workplace design,” said Alex Whitbread, partner at FCBStudios. “It’s a project that demonstrates how ambitious sustainability targets, deep community collaboration and a commitment to wellbeing can come together in a truly regenerative building.”
Paradise SE11 is named after Old Paradise Gardens, which the building adjoins. Natural light floods its interiors, while floor-to-ceiling windows offers views out to the gardens, the passing trains and across to the city skyline. Generous floor heights, exposed timber and access to green spaces all contribute to a healthy workplace and human-centric design. The ground floor offers workshop and maker spaces, with the upper floors created for adaptability and reconfiguration to suit tenant needs. On the façade, self-cleaning, demountable terracotta tiles, designed in collaboration with local school children, draw on the area’s Royal Doulton heritage. These tiles, like the building itself, are made to last more than 100 years, and can be reused in the future.
“This is us rethinking what a central London development can be, not just in form, but in feeling,” says Pavlos Clifton, head of development at Bywater Properties. “What we’ve tried to do is act responsibly – it was about looking at materials, procurement routes and seeing if there were opportunities to do things better.
“This building showcases what can be done with the right attitude, as well as what needs to be done in order to shift the industry away from traditional materials. If we want to change the industry, we have to start somewhere.”
Photography by Andy Stagg
Enjoyed this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here
