Block to add to Landsecs emerging commercial complex near Tate ModernThe scheme's approved frontage along Southwark Bridge RoadLandsec's emerging commercial complex in Southwark, with The Forge in the foreground and the Southwark Bridge Road scheme in the backgroundView of proposed office space1/7show captionSouthwark council has approved Landsecs plans to add a 12-storey office block to its complex of commercial buildings near the Tate Modern on Londons South Bank.Councillors voted to approve the Orms-designed redevelopment of 22 and 24 Southwark Bridge Road earlier this week.The scheme, located just south of Southwark Bridge, will back onto Landsecs Forge development, a nine-storey office development designed by Piercy & Co which was completed by a Sir Robert McAlpine/Mace joint venture in 2023.The new project will see the demolition of the seven-storey red brick building at 24 Southwark Bridge Road and the partial demolition, recladding and vertical extension by five storeys of the six-to-eight-storey building at 22 Southwark Bridge Road.The two sites will be combined to create one block covering 0.25 ha and range from six to 12 storeys, providing around 20,000 sq m of office space.The proposals had been recommended for approval by Southwarks planning officers ahead of Tuesdays planning committee meeting in a report which praised the schemes elegant and distinctive design.The architectural design is sound and well considered, officers said. The building, which takes up the full length of the block, benefits from a unifying design approach to the Southwark Bridge Road frontage.The composition is measured with a confident and engaging base, a polite middle and a highly articulated and recessive top.An earlier version of the scheme was significantly revised after being criticised as confused by the councils Design Review Panel in 2023. The amended plans were submitted in July last year.The project team includes cost consultant CoreFive, structural engineer London Structures Labs, planning consultant Avison Young, facade consultant Eckersley OCallaghan, townscape consultant Turley, fire and sustainability consultant Aecom and principal designer AtkinsRealis.McGee is on the project team as pre-demolition advisor.