Overview
It is a BREEAM-certified project for sustainability building. It happens to be another bank headquarter in Europe as last week. This week we will introduce 5 Broadgate, London, UK, the new headquarters for the Swiss bank, Union Bank of Switzerland (or UBS) and delve into the play of stainless steel on the building. Now let’s embark on our journey to UK together.
5 Broadgate, London, UK
5 Broadgate, London, UK is a 13-story groundscraper designed for the financial services firm UBS as its new headquarters, allowing the organization to concentrate its London trading operations in one place.
The commercial building achieves 60 meters high at its four corners, sitting lightly in a 105,000m² (or 1,134,000 ft²) site. It covers 66,890 m² (or 700,000 ft²) of Grade "A" office space over its twelve floors, sufficient to accommodate 6000 staffs (TROX UK LTD. 2026). Specifically, the building features two ground floors, four 5-meter-high trading floors, one service floor assisting trade operations, two more luxury floors, and four conventional work-space floors from bottom to top as below drawing (Ongreening 2021).
The Background Information of 5 Broadgate, London, UK
The construction work of 5 Broadgate, London, UK was commenced in March 2012 and completed in September 2015. According to MACE Group (2026), MACE as the key stakeholder had been involved in the development as early as in 2007.
In August 2010, British Land the UK’s second largest landlord and developer, also the owner of the estate, officially declared they would develop a new London headquarter for UBS joint with private-equity firm Blackstone Group. Bluebutton Properties, the 50:50 joint venture of the two companies, was responsible for the lease deal with tenant UBS (Anita Likus 2010). UBS was entitled to the occupation of the estate for 20 years until 2035.
The development was estimated to cost £340 million (excluding land and interest costs) and be completed in late 2014 (Anita Likus 2010). It turned out to be £383 million and in Autumn 2015 (MACE 2026). The building was awarded BREEAM Excellent for energy efficiency such as choice of sustainable material stainless steel, using FSC-certified timber, having a substantial area of green roof, and 70% waste recycling. Meanwhile, it boosted local economy by creating 10,000 jobs (MACE 2026).
The Challenges Facing the Development
It was a complicated project due to the site location, sustainability requirement and strict functional requirements (Buro Happold 2026).
First comes the location. 5 Broadgate, London, UK is situated in a highly constrained site with a high flow of people and mobility, such as the nearby Liverpool Street Station, Transport for London bus gyratory and the busy Broadgate Estate service yard. Underground there were a major sewer and other subterranean infrastructure.
Second, how to balance between sustainability and the economic benefits the new building will allow. It has to be a factor to be considered at every stage from designing to construction.
Third, UBS trading floors are required to be operational in case of any event, including but not limited to fire and blast. This calls for a really robust and resilient building.
The Design of 5 Broadgate, London, UK
5 Broadgate, London, UK was designed by the famous UK architectural firm MAKE Architects. The building was born from two demolished office facilities at the site, namely 4 and 6 Broadgate to achieve such a scale.
The bold design looking like a giant metal engine block was to echo the building’s internal functions. It was expressed through the distinctive architectural language of solidity and robustness, justified by the façade of the building, 65% composed of solid material. Yet the trapezoidal windows created patterns on facades gracefully while preserving view for inside.
Stainless Steel Applied in 5 Broadgate, London, UK
Stainless steel façade constitutes one of the most striking features of 5 Broadgate, London, also making it one of the largest stainless steel-clad buildings all over the world (City of London Corporation 2026), reinforcing the building’s robust and strong impression.
According to ISSF (2025), approximately 500 tons of 1.5mm stainless steel 316L sheets are used for covering the building for both durability and aesthetic qualities. The proportion of glass is quite smaller in this case compared with the glass-and-stainless-steel buildings introduced before. The extensive use of stainless steel façade can unify the building surface and deliver a sense of precision and quality in terms of aesthetical appeal, meanwhile providing high levels of thermal and solar insulation for energy efficiency.
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