The six-storey Shoreditch building replaces a 1,022-sq-m office that was unviable for extension and unable to accommodate the growing need for workspace in the area. Driven to create the ‘most sustainable building’ possible, TOG cofounders and co-CEOs Olly Olsen and Charlie Green tapped Waugh Thistleton Architects, which proposed a new structure constructed from cross-laminated timber (CLT) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL). 

According to Andrew Waugh, cofounder of the practice, the end-result – home to 28 offices, six meeting rooms, various booths and breakout areas, and many amenities – the project ‘demonstrates that mass timber is a viable replacement for concrete and steel in the mainstream office market, saving thousands of tonnes of CO2.’ 

The Black & White Building comprises timbers from 227 beech and 1,547 pine and spruce trees from certified forests in Austria and Germany. Quick replenishment of this wood in sustainable forests, the relative lightness and ease of transporting timber and prefabrication – which entails simple disassembly and material reuse – are all factors making the CLT-and-LVL architecture more sustainable than traditional solutions. It creates 37 per cent less embodied carbon and stores 1,014.7 tonnes of CO2 over the long term. Renewable energy sources power the entire building, with the help of 80 rooftop solar panels and exterior tulipwood louvres that provide natural shade. Devised by studio Daytrip, the interiors also embrace the use of wood. 

The motivation behind the design is to encourage social connection and wellbeing. That’s why lounges are dotted throughout the floorplan, with pockets of outdoor access space, like a decked rooftop terrace and courtyard. Warm, earthy tones and refined finishes echo the façade. TOG enlisted the help of three student designers through its Makers & Mentors programme, in collaboration with Power Out of Restriction collective, to create a furnishing, artwork or accessory for the space. The location also boasts TOG’s first dedicated yoga and barre studio, inviting midday meditation and exercise.