A Circular Office Fit-Out at Europe’s Largest Climate Tech Hub, Built With Our U-Build Modular System

An Adaptable Office Fit-Out At London’s Grade-II Listed County Hall

Our modular construction system, U-Build, was chosen by Sustainable Ventures for the commercial retrofit of Sustainable Workspaces, located in London’s iconic County Hall. Overlooking the Thames in Central London, this flexible co-working hub hosts Europe’s largest community of climate tech start-ups.

Working in partnership with Sustainable Ventures CIC, our team delivered a low-impact interior retrofit, designing and installing removable partitions, phone booths, desks, lockers, and office pods. The system was first installed on the third floor, with the specific intention of being relocated and reused two years later on the larger fifth floor - a compelling case for U-Build’s adaptability in circular commercial projects.

In phase two, U-Build modules were reincorporated into a broader commercial retrofit of the fifth floor by Material Works architects, achieving maximum material reuse and minimal waste. The outcome is a modular interior that evolves alongside the needs of the organisation and the many start-ups it supports.

U-Build has since joined the Sustainable Ventures community, continuing to adapt the space in collaboration with new incoming businesses.

Download the U-Build Commercial Fit-Out Brochure

Close up of U-Build timber modular construction blocks — Image by Jim Stephenson

What Is U-Build?

U-Build is a modular construction system designed to enable sustainable, flexible construction across a wide range of applications - from commercial fit-outs and retrofits to home extensions and even entire new-build houses.

Developed by Studio Bark in 2016 for the self-build project Box House (featured on Grand Designs: The Street), the system was created in collaboration with Structure Workshop for structural engineering, and Cut and Construct for prototyping and testing.

The system uses precision-cut, interlocking timber boxes that can be assembled by hand, without destructive fixings, making it ideal for circular construction and commercial retrofits.

Sustainable Workspaces U-Build office fit out

A Low-Impact Reusable Fit-Out Solution

The U-Build team worked with Material Works on a design that would maximise reusability, with standard U-Build modular boxes used for around 95% of the walls.

For the remaining 5%, a completely new innovation was created: an adjustable U-Build module known as a ‘compression box’. The U-Build compression box tightens against the concrete frame of the building using a flat plate, and turns the assembly into a solid partition, without a single fixing into the building. The adjustable nature of the box serves a second function – to close up small gaps – and can also be fitted with a seal for added acoustic performance

As the partitions have no fixings, the landlord classified them as furniture, which did not break the terms of the lease. The work extended to cover other items, including desks, storage units, office pods and lockers.

Download the U-Build Commercial Fit-Out Brochure

The Reusable Office Of The Future

Sustainable Workspaces is a model for how low-impact, circular commercial interiors can support business agility and reduce waste. With U-Build, workspace providers can implement a highly flexible fit-out, capable of adapting to growth, change, or relocation, without damaging the fabric of the building.

Every U-Build component is designed for disassembly and reuse, helping reduce embodied carbon and construction waste. For architects, developers, and workspace operators, U-Build provides a light-touch, high-performance commercial retrofit solution built for longevity and circularity.