The Acre

Overview

Opportunity

Solution

Impact

Team

Gensler transformed a former inward-looking bank into a sustainable workplace that preserves its character while reconnecting the building with the surrounding neighbourhood.

Location

London, UK

Client

Northwood Investors

Expertise

Building Transformation & Adaptive Reuse Office Developers Climate Action & Sustainability Brand Design [FPO] Building Transformation [FPO] Adaptive Reuse [FPO] Architecture

Opportunity

Northwood investors saw an opportunity to renew an ageing Covent Garden office while preserving its character, reducing carbon, and meeting changing occupier expectations.

Originally designed as a secure banking headquarters, 90 Long Acre deliberately turned away from Covent Garden. Its fragmented floorplates, defensive entrances, and ageing systems limited both its commercial appeal and contribution to the surrounding streets. Rather than replace the building, Northwood investors chose to retain and reinvent it. The challenge was to preserve its character and embodied carbon while creating flexible workspace, stronger environmental performance, and a more open, welcoming relationship with the neighbourhood and daily life.

Why This Matters

01
Building on What Exists
Every existing building holds material, cultural, and environmental value. By transforming, rather than replacing, The Acre shows how reuse can unlock a lower-carbon future without erasing the past.
02
Opening to Covent Garden
Once closed and inward-looking, the building now contributes to the life of Covent Garden, creating new routes, welcoming public spaces, and a stronger relationship with the neighbourhood.
03
Setting a New Standard
The Acre proves that retrofit can deliver commercial flexibility, exceptional workplace experience, and ambitious environmental performance, setting a stronger benchmark for the next generation of offices.

The Acre is now part of a tapestry of existing culture, energy, and connectivity that is increasingly drawing occupiers to the west end. This project demonstrates the potential for the sustainable reuse of buildings in a way that responds intelligently to occupier demand.

Solution

Working with the existing structure, the design opens the building to light, landscape, people, and Covent Garden, creating a new civic and workplace heart.

Gensler retained over 80% of the original structure and reorganised the building around The Heart, a seven-storey covered atrium that becomes its social, environmental, and civic centre. Two infill volumes reconnect previously separated wings, creating some of Covent Garden’s largest contiguous floorplates. New entrances, retail, terraces, and active frontages strengthen the relationship with the neighbourhood, while all-electric systems, mixed-mode ventilation, and upgraded façades improve energy performance and comfort. Warm materials and organic forms soften the building’s Brutalist character.

From brief to build: how close collaboration and precision engineering unlocked a complex retained structure while protecting its character, carbon, and long-term value.

The team first tested repositioning against wholesale redevelopment, establishing that retention offered the strongest environmental, architectural, and commercial response. Detailed studies then identified where targeted infill could connect the existing blocks, enlarge the floorplates, and create The Heart without erasing the original structure. Architecture, structure, façade, and building services were developed to integrate daylight, mixed-mode ventilation, terraces, and all-electric operation. Early contractor involvement and full-scale mock-ups helped coordinate selective demolition, strengthening, façade refurbishment, and new construction around the retained building.

A New Form

Strategic massing interventions adapt the retained structure, introducing new volumes that anchor the building more confidently within its context.

Impact

The Acre demonstrates how thoughtful transformation can create lasting value for cities, businesses, and communities by giving an existing building an entirely new future.

The Acre combines commercial flexibility, lower-carbon performance, and welcoming public spaces, proving that adaptive reuse can deliver lasting environmental and social impact.

What Changed Because of This

01
Civic Connection
Once closed to the city, The Acre now welcomes people through active frontages, retail, hospitality, and The Heart, strengthening Covent Garden’s public life.
02
Future-Ready Workspace
Flexible floorplates, healthier environments, and adaptable infrastructure allow the building to evolve with changing occupier needs while remaining commercially competitive.
03
Reuse Benchmark
By demonstrating the environmental and commercial value of retaining existing buildings, The Acre establishes a compelling precedent for sustainable urban regeneration.

The Acre’s transformation is about reinvention and connecting the past with the future to create a relevant, healthy, and sustainable workplace.

Recognition

01

Property Week

The project earned a 2025 ESG Edge Award for its commercial retrofit, recognizing its approach to sustainable transformation.

02

Architects’ Journal

Gensler’s retrofit of The Acre was spotlighted as a thoughtful transformation that bridges the past and future of London’s Covent Garden.

03

The Spectator

Gensler’s transformation of Richard Seifert’s 1980s building in the heart of London was featured as part of a broader look at the architect’s legacy.

Team

Project Leadership

[FPO] Harry Cliffe Roberts

Placeholder for office leadership name "Harry Cliffe Roberts" — no matching pagePeople yet. "pnpm migrate resolve-stubs" swaps this for the real page once it exists.

Valeria Segovia

Valeria is Managing Director and Principal at Gensler Madrid. She has more than 20 years’ experience helping clients transform and reposition existing assets to create long-term value. Her expertise spans adaptive reuse, workplace and sustainable design, with a focus on design strategies that balance commercial, environmental and human priorities.

Duncan Swinhoe

Duncan is Regional Managing Principal for Gensler's Europe region and a recognised leader in urban transformation. Spearheading the firm's expansion across Europe, he has led the growth of the business and established offices in key markets such as Germany and France.

[FPO] Caroline Koo

Placeholder for office leadership name "Caroline Koo" — no matching pagePeople yet. "pnpm migrate resolve-stubs" swaps this for the real page once it exists.

FAQ

01

What sustainability certifications has The Acre achieved?

The Acre meets some of the industry’s highest standards for sustainability, well-being, and performance, achieving BREEAM Outstanding, WELL Platinum, WiredScore Platinum, and SmartScore Platinum certifications.

02

What was on the site before?

The Acre was originally a 1980s office building designed by Richard Seifert. Its robust structure provided the foundation for transformation into a contemporary workplace rather than replacement.

03

How flexible is the workplace?

The Acre has been designed to support a range of occupiers, from a single headquarters to multiple tenants. Large, adaptable floorplates and flexible infrastructure allow the building to evolve as workplace needs change.

04

How does The Acre contribute to Covent Garden?

The transformation opens a previously private building to the surrounding neighbourhood, removing physical barriers and introducing more active, welcoming edges that reconnect the site with the city.

05

What makes The Acre a model for adaptive reuse?

The project demonstrates that retaining and upgrading existing buildings can deliver commercial performance, exceptional workplace quality, and meaningful carbon savings, providing a compelling alternative to demolition and new-build development.

Related Work

project

110 The Queens Walk

Gensler is transforming London’s former City Hall into an open, low-carbon destination that reconnects workplaces, public life, landscape, and the River Thames.

project

100 New Bridge Street

Gensler transforms a 1990s City of London office into a high-performance commercial building that finds new value in what already exists.

project

10 Gresham Street

10 Gresham Street is an adaptive-reuse project that enhances well-being and sustainability by bringing new life to old bones in the City of London.

project

[FPO] The Goodsyard

Placeholder — not migrated yet.

Related Expertise

Building Transformation & Adaptive Reuse Office Developers Climate Action & Sustainability Brand Design Building Transformation Adaptive Reuse Architecture

Gensler transformed a former inward-looking bank into a sustainable workplace that preserves its character while reconnecting the building with the surrounding neighbourhood.

Northwood investors saw an opportunity to renew an ageing Covent Garden office while preserving its character, reducing carbon, and meeting changing occupier expectations.

Why This Matters

Working with the existing structure, the design opens the building to light, landscape, people, and Covent Garden, creating a new civic and workplace heart.

From brief to build: how close collaboration and precision engineering unlocked a complex retained structure while protecting its character, carbon, and long-term value.

The Acre demonstrates how thoughtful transformation can create lasting value for cities, businesses, and communities by giving an existing building an entirely new future.

What Changed Because of This