The Echo Building, Bournemouth

Client

THAT Group are a team of urban regenerators with big ideas. They build and own, diversifying neighbourhoods, identifying long-term development opportunities in carefully selected and often overlooked locations.

Scope

The Echo Building in Bournemouth is a notable Art Deco building which was built for the Bournemouth Echo in 1932. The building is Grade II Listed and of traditional brick construction. The existing building has four upper floors, a basement and a lower ground floor. The works being undertaken by THAT Group will reconfigure,  redevelop and extend the building.

The Echo Building has been developed throughout the life cycle of the building, increasing the complexity of a sloping site with several final exits at different levels.

Our responsibilities included:

• Working with the THAT Group to continuously develop a dynamic fire safety strategy as the proposals within the building developed within existing building constraints.

• Developed a bespoke evacuation strategy to determine the vertical capacities for each of the tenants within the building.

• Provided advice on the potential implications, flexibility and opportunities of varying uses within the basement.

Results

The fire safety strategy principles respects the historical architectural features whilst maximising the client’s aspiration goals for a renovated office, with high quality architecture and fire safety level.