Woolgate Exchange

Keltbray were engaged to undertake the strip-out and enabling works scope of a nine-storey building known as Woolgate Exchange, located in the heart of the City of London.

The external envelope of the building was to remain intact throughout the works due to planning constraints whilst ongoing planning permissions were secured for further enabling works procured under a separate builders contract.

Deploying a specialist team of over 100 CCDO operatives, over 3,000 tonnes of waste materials was generated and removed from the project and 100% of waste was diverted from landfill with materials re-used or recycled, 14% of which was directly re-used. 

Working with our network of circular economy partners, we sought to find potential avenues for these materials to be reused by several suppliers, charities, and organisations. One example is Hawa Trust, a local charity fighting FGM and abuse to women and girls. Approximately 48,000No. carpet tiles were donated from Woolgate Exchange (over two-third of what was initially present in the building) to help furnish schools, hospitals, and other buildings in developing countries. 

In addition, over 50,000 raised access floor tiles were carefully removed for direct reuse in neighbouring projects equating to an emissions saving of over 7,500kgCO2e from the avoidance of manufacturing with virgin materials. 

Key facts:

• Complex logistics: Out-of-hours operations overcame restricted access, with only two goods lifts available for material removal.
• Design coordination: Keltbray supported the Stage 3 to Stage 4 design development to keep works aligned with client expectations.
• Circular approach: Keltbray worked with its partner network to identify opportunities for materials to be reused beyond the project