Bloomberg's European HQ / Foster + Partners

Architects: Foster + Partners
Area: 102190 m²
Year: 2017
Photographs: Nigel Young, Aaron Hargreaves
Manufacturers: Kvadrat Soft Cells, UniFor, Grants of Shoreditch, Josef Gartner, KIKUKAWA, Trapex, WindowMaster
Quantity Surveyor: AECOM
Structural Engineer: AKT II
Lighting Engineer: Tillotson Design Associates
Client: Bloomberg LP
Sustainability Rating: BREEAM – Outstanding
City: London
Country: United Kingdom

Bloomberg’s European Headquarters, designed by Foster + Partners in London, integrates with its historic surroundings near St. Paul’s Cathedral and the Bank of England, achieving a BREEAM Outstanding rating, the highest ever for a major office project. The 3.2-acre site spans a full city block, with two buildings connected by bridges over a pedestrian arcade, reinstating Watling Street, an ancient Roman road. Bloomberg Arcade, lined with restaurants and cafés, serves as a key pedestrian route, complemented by three public plazas. The sandstone façade, with bronze fins, regulates solar exposure and enhances natural ventilation. Art commissions, including Cristina Iglesias’ “Forgotten Streams” and the reinstated Roman Temple of Mithras, contribute to the site’s cultural significance. A porte-cochère leads to the Vortex, a double-height timber space, from which high-speed glazed lifts transport occupants to the sixth-floor pantry, a hub for collaboration and connectivity.

Bloomberg's european hq / foster + partners

Bloomberg’s new European headquarters is designed to harmonize with its surroundings in the heart of the City of London, near the Bank of England, St. Paul’s Cathedral, and St. Stephen’s Walbrook. Its form, massing, and materials reflect the character of its location, serving as a natural extension of the city while enhancing the public realm. Moreover, it stands as a benchmark for sustainable development, achieving a BREEAM Outstanding rating, the highest design-stage score ever awarded to a major office project.

Covering an entire city block, the 3.2-acre site consists of two buildings connected by bridges spanning a pedestrian arcade, which restores Watling Street, an ancient Roman road that once crossed the site. Bloomberg Arcade now serves as a key pedestrian route through the city, featuring restaurants and cafés set back behind an undulating façade beneath a covered colonnade. In addition, three public plazas, positioned at each end of the arcade and near the building’s entrance, create new civic spaces within the Square Mile.

The building’s distinctive façade features a structural sandstone frame complemented by large-scale bronze fins that provide shading for the floor-to-ceiling glazing. These fins create a visual hierarchy and rhythmic pattern, varying in scale, pitch, and density across each façade based on orientation and solar exposure. Moreover, they play a crucial role in the building’s natural ventilation system, enhancing both environmental performance and aesthetic design.

Art is integral to the project, with site-specific commissions integrated throughout the building and its surroundings. Cristina Iglesias’ three-part water sculpture, “Forgotten Streams,” pays tribute to the Walbrook River, which once flowed beneath the site, shaping the public spaces at both ends of Bloomberg Arcade. Furthermore, the new Bloomberg building restores the archaeological remains of the Roman Temple of Mithras to their original location, featuring a dedicated interpretation center and cultural hub designed to provide visitors with an immersive experience that brings the site’s history to life.

The main entrance to Bloomberg is marked by a prominent porte-cochère, where the building encloses two sides of a newly created formal city square. Visitors enter through the reception lobby before moving into the Vortex, a striking double-height space shaped by three inclined, curving timber shells. From this point, high-speed fully glazed lifts, featuring a uniquely concealed mechanism developed specifically for the project, transport occupants directly to the sixth floor.

At the core of Bloomberg’s workplace philosophy, the double-height pantry on the sixth floor serves as the heart of the building, emphasizing the company’s focus on collaboration and interaction. This dynamic space is a central hub that encourages spontaneous encounters and informal discussions as people move through the building.

A hypotrochoid stepped ramp, defined by its smooth, continuous three-dimensional loop, extends through the full height of the building, enhancing the spatial experience. Clad in bronze, it is designed as a space for interaction and connection, allowing for brief, impromptu conversations without disrupting the movement of people.

The emphasis on teamwork and collaboration extends to the desking systems and floor layouts, where bespoke, height-adjustable radial desks are arranged in clusters and pods for up to six people, promoting privacy, personalization, well-being, and collaborative work. The ceiling design, inspired by New York’s pressed metal ceilings, is another distinctive feature. Its polished aluminum “petal” panels serve multiple functions, acting as a ceiling finish, light reflectors, cooling elements, and acoustic attenuators, integrating various office ceiling components into an energy-efficient system.