Merchant Square

1 Merchant Square is the signature building of a prestigious new development in Paddington Basin in London. The £500m Merchant Square development brings together four buildings and their unique setting as one coherent piece of urban infrastructure.

1 Merchant Square will be the tallest building in Westminster at 42 storeys high, and its apartments are designed for contemporary living in the city. Built to a high specification, and using lighting-control technology, the building will offer its residents luxury in a location that is close to both Hyde Park and the West End of London. With a 93 room hotel at the base, and 209 apartments with private balconies, as well as a two-storey Skybar with 360 degree views of the city, 1 Merchant Square will be the focal point of the Merchant Square masterplan.

The Merchant Square development will be carried out in three phases to create a unique development in the city. The first phase will include 3 Merchant Square, which is nearing completion. The second phase will include buildings 1 and 6 Merchant Square and the final phase will be see the completion of 2 Merchant Square.

The main contactor faced a number of logistical challenges as they were completing adjacent buildings in parallel with basement piling, while also being close to the canal. The design of the building creates a sleek, curved silhouette, but it has been done to minimise the effects of the wind. The geometry of the building required trapezoidal cladding panels instead of standard rectangular ones.

Billington Structures provided the structural steelwork for 1 Merchant Square, which consisted of a multi block frame structure with sloping faces cellform beams braced from concrete cores in each block.

This new development will transform an area of London that has mostly been neglected into a thriving waterfront neighbourhood with luxury apartments and hotel.