Hong Kong developer Tenacity Group has been granted planning permission for an office redevelopment at 70 Gracechurch Street in the City of London, which has sustainability at the heart of its design. 

Tenacity claim that the building would be five times more energy efficient than the existing office block, and it hopes the building will be one of the first BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ rated offices in the Square Mile. 

This is great news not only for the planet and those people working in the City, but also for the future of building design. 

The importance increasingly placed on green lease issues in lease documentation between landlord and tenant and on more sustainable building materials is living and breathing proof that we are all heading in the right direction. 

Especially for somewhere like the Square Mile, seeing designs involving 100% renewable energy systems, greening and access to fresh air reflects the way pre-existing trends have perhaps been further set in stone as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.