Few commercial developments prove as divisive as the forthcoming London Octopus building in Chiswick. To the architects, it is “part building, part sculpture” – a project which sets new standards in architectural ambition. To its opponents, it’s a danger to road safety and the ugliest building in the capital.
The landmark office block will be constructed on the busy Chiswick Roundabout, after joint developers London & Bath Estates and Galliard Group obtained planning permission from Hounslow Council in December 2012.
Yet work is yet to begin on the construction phase of the development, with official estimates claiming that this will not begin until autumn of this year – meaning the property will not open until the autumn of 2016.
Despite this, there has been a significant level of interest in the project from potential bidders, with news emerging this week that two Arab royal families have entered into a bidding war.
The wife of former Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Sheikha Moza bint Nasser Al Missned, and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and monarch of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, have both entered bids for the property.
The reason for the interest becomes clear when the potential non-rental income from the iceberg-like building is taken into account.
The Octopus will be draped in a “transparent shroud” which acts as a solar shade and a 2,650 sq metre LED advertising screen which will be visible from the estimated 300,000 vehicles using the Chiswick Roundabout and flyover every day.
This is one reason that construction has taken so long to get off the ground, as developers had to finalise a “light management plan” to ensure passing motorists will not become distracted by the screens.
The screens are also the key reason behind local residents’ complaints regarding the development. Chair of the West Chiswick and Gunnersbury Society, Marie Rabouhans, calls them “totally inappropriate” for an area which is overlooked by a large cemetery and numerous residential properties.
“We didn’t think we lived in Las Vegas or Times Square – it will be seen for miles.
“It is an alien object that might be all right in a city centre or just off a motorway in the middle of nowhere, but we don’t want an overhead section of the M4 to be the defining feature of our neighbourhood,” she told the Evening Standard.
The development will provide 46,000 square feet of office space and is expected to generate over £10 million of annual income for the eventual owners, most of which will come from screen advertising. With this prize in reach, it seems that the objections of local residents will be ignored – especially now that the calibre of bidders has risen so high.
