London City Bank – hub by Premier Inn

OVERVIEW

Situated in the heart of London’s historic Square Mile, London City Bank – hub by Premier Inn was a multifaceted project for G&H from design, delivery and technical perspectives.

Developed on the site of a former bank building, the hotel features 61 bedrooms the majority of which are approximately half the size of those found in standard Premier Inns meaning the space to install services in was, in turn, significantly reduced.

To create the best possible experience for guests, hub London City Bank rooms feature the latest state-of-the-art technology such as 40” Smart TVs, lighting and temperature controls built into bed headboards, superfast wi-fi and high-powered ‘monsoon’ showers.

Additionally, G&H’s building services included HVAC, lighting, access controls, alarms, smoke control and CCTV.

CHALLENGE

Internally, restricted void space and risers required creative design to ensure all services could be installed all while working respectfully around a listed façade.

Given the small site, we could only deploy a total of approximately 20 G&H engineers and project managers at any given time.

The City of London location was incredibly busy.

The site is surrounded by boutique bars, coffee houses, shops and popular tourist venues nearby including St Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge and the Tower of London.

Access to the site was via the same route as the staff car park for Bloomberg’s European headquarters that is home to 4,000 employees.

This was compounded by the site being triangulated by Bank, Monument and Cannon Street tube stations, further adding to the crowded environment. This created important logistical and health and safety issues that required managing carefully.

Tower cranes were not permitted around the site so instead equipment had to be manually carried up the seven-storeys creating additional health and safety considerations, while exemplary logistical planning using just-in-time deliveries overcame non-existent on-site storage.

An extremely large footfall around the site required us and our delivery supply chain to work with extreme care, attention and consideration at all times due to the close vicinity of so many pedestrians.

SOLUTION

A highly coordinated approach was implemented to overcome site restrictions, including the use of just-in-time deliveries and manual handling of equipment due to the ban on tower cranes.

G&H’s team worked creatively within limited void spaces and risers, carefully installing services around a listed façade while adhering to strict health and safety requirements. A full suite of modern M&E systems was delivered, including HVAC, lighting, access controls, alarms, smoke control, and CCTV, all tailored to the compact layout of the hub bedrooms.

RESULTS

Despite significant spatial, logistical, and safety constraints, the project was delivered successfully with minimal disruption to the surrounding high-traffic area. All systems were installed to a high standard, contributing to a state-of-the-art guest experience. The project showcased G&H’s ability to deliver complex M&E solutions in a constrained urban environment and to strict programme requirements.