A major-mixed use development on London's Knightsbridge Estate has reached its highest point of construction.

Contractor Skanska was joined by supply chain and asset manager and development manager Chelsfield to host a topping ceremony to mark the milestone.

This £152 million project makes up a third of the prestigious Knightsbridge Estate and combines 340,000 sq ft of retail, commercial, residential and restaurant space in the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea. It is being delivered on behalf of The Olayan Group.

John Birch, Project Director at Skanska, commented: "From its inception this project has incorporated a number of extremely complex elements. These include a tube line, a conservation area and a retained façade, which almost entirely wraps around the whole site.

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"To overcome these challenges, everybody involved embraced digital technology, including the adoption of BIM to create and share key information about the project. This has helped us to communicate exceptionally well and avoid any delays to the project's programme.

"With nearly 15,000 documents being used, it is vital that the management of this information is clearly defined, especially in the design process. By using digital technology at an early stage, it enabled the team to scrutinise and coordinate the building elements way ahead of construction, removing a huge portion of risk. This innovative approach is helping us to deliver a more efficient project for our customer."

Jonathan Shelton, Managing Director Europe, Real Estate for The Olayan Group, added: "From the outset, it was important to everybody involved in this project that we created and maintained a strong relationship. This has helped us to deliver a project that benefits the communities that surround The Knightsbridge Estate, as well as improving facilities that already existed, like creating step-free access to Knightsbridge Tube Station. We are delighted with the work so far and very pleased to be celebrating this construction milestone with everybody involved."

The building is targeting environmental standards to achieve both BREEAM excellent and very good.


It is due for completion in April 2021.

(CM/MH)