Reinvigorating the home of the shipping industry’s guardians

The challenge

As a United Nations specialist agency, the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) has been safeguarding the global shipping industry for decades. The time had come to modernise its offices and common areas.

The approach

Working collaboratively with D&B contractor Overbury, we delivered the design and refurbishment of the 1980s purpose-built headquarters on Albert Embankment.

We transformed the dated interior into a modern space with high-quality finishes throughout to reflect the building’s role as the head office of an international organisation. The highlight of the refurbishment is a new external terrace that enables both a closer connection to the water of the Thames, and unique panoramic views - Houses of Parliament to the east; Battersea Power Station to the west.

The result

The impressive 18,000m² space houses a fully refurbished 800-seat auditorium with all new AV upgrades, plus a flexible 400-capacity conference facility that doubles up as meeting spaces for up to 12 rooms. The easily accessible building is Part M compliant, with completely updated monitoring and evaluation (M&E) and IT systems throughout.