Victoria House

Main contractor

Winvic

Architects

Broadway Malyan

Products

Facing Bricks

Overview

Victoria House is a major office development in the heart of Milton Keynes, the rapidly growing new town, just 400 metres from Milton Keynes Railway Station. The project is one of the largest investments in the commercial sector in the area over the past few years and is situated at a prominent location in the business district of the town.

Designed by Broadway Malyan architects and managed by Winvic; this five-storey complex has provided the area with 3,500sqm of commercial office space, including a ground floor restaurant and café on a site which overlooks the nearby Grafton Park in Milton Keynes.

The project has achieved the BREEAM accreditation of excellency and has delivered much-needed office space to the increasingly sought-after region. Being both sustainable as well as functional, the project has not compromised on its aesthetic appearance, as the immaculate architectural design boasts a stylish and contemporary facade.

Concept to completion

The location of the project, Milton Keynes, is renowned for its wide boulevards and modern architecture. Victoria House has embodied this architectural style and delivered an elegant four-storey pavilion constructed using traditional facing bricks, supplied by Taylor Maxwell, and a recessed attic as a fourth-floor.

The building is composed of two symmetrical wings adjoining a large, glazed entrance, opposite to the minimalist, steel structured porte cochère.

A light-coloured, buff facing brick was selected as it is visually striking whilst being sensitive to its surrounding architectural context. The brickwork combined with the precast concrete string courses create a simple grid configuration and a strong linear and horizontal accent across the facade.

The brickwork is chamfered along the south, east and west elevations, creating deep window reveals which help to shade the floor-plates. The chamfers create a subtle interplay of light and shadow which enrich the overall architecture of the project, but more importantly, they play an integral role in ensuring that the building meets its BREEAM excellent accreditation.

Overall, the Victoria House scheme successfully meets the client’s brief with careful considerations in terms of spatial, environmental and logistical demands whilst adhering to Central Milton Keynes' urban design requirements. As the building had BREEAM excellent aspirations, sustainability remained at the heart of the design process.