Luton Street development reaches major milestone with topping out ceremony

Linkcity’s Luton Street development for Westminster City Council reaches a major milestone as the contractor for the project, Bouygues UK, completes the highest point of the build.

The topping out ceremony saw Linkcity, Bouygues UK, and Westminster City Council all come together to celebrate this key milestone in delivering the Luton Street development. Linkcity is working with Westminster Builds, Westminster City Council’s self-development arm to provide 1,750 homes for Westminster City Council as part of their ambition to create a ‘City for All’, enabling people of all backgrounds, needs and aspirations to live harmoniously in the city. Luton Street is one development within the Church Street regeneration programme.

The development will see the creation of 171 new homes, with 62 affordable homes provided at social rent. As well as new high-quality homes, a sports hall and community space are being built which will benefit members of the Church Street community.

The new homes will be surrounded by a green pathway between Fisherton Street and Salisbury Street, called the Green Spine.

The development at Luton Street began in September 2019 and is due to be completed in 2022.

Linkcity Managing Director, Axel Boutrolle, said:
“We are very pleased to be celebrating progress on this landmark scheme, providing 168 much needed high-quality new houses alongside community facilities and public realm for the local community. Luton Street is an important first step in Westminster’s City Council’s Church Street regeneration programme and we are very proud to be working in joint venture with Westminster Builds a part of such transformational development.”

Bouygues UK Chief Executive, Rob Bradley, said:
“It is very rewarding to mark the progress of a project which will have such a positive impact on the residents of Luton Street and the wider community. This is one of many projects we have delivered for Westminster City Council and a scheme we are very proud to be involved in, providing good quality, affordable new housing and community spaces for one of London’s most vibrant communities.”

Cllr Heather Acton, Westminster City Council Cabinet Member for Communities and Regeneration, said:
“Luton Street is one of many sites being developed in Church Street as part of our unprecedented regeneration programme which will provide new, sustainable and affordable homes plus improved facilities for the community. The additional homes are recognised as much needed in the area and we want local people and businesses to remain at the heart of this strong, vibrant and diverse community.
“It’s brilliant to see how far we have come with this site after working closely with local residents to ensure the building is the right scheme for the community, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing it completed next year.”

Press Release

BOUYGUES CONSTRUCTION JOINS THE CAMBRIDGE SERVICE ALLIANCE, STRENGTHENING GLOBAL DRIVE FOR INNOVATION AND DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION

Bouygues Construction has joined forces with The Cambridge Service Alliance (CSA), a unique global partnership between the University of Cambridge and some of the world’s leading businesses. This alliance is a great opportunity for both organisations to engage on digital transformation topics, in particular the research they are both conducting on digital twins – where virtual models are used to represent physical objects – and the common drive for customer-centric approaches to better navigate the business landscape of the future.

Founded in 2010, the Alliance helps global companies design and deliver successful complex service systems. Bouygues Construction, which designs, builds and operates in construction, civil works and energies and services in more than 60 countries, will benefit from the rigorous research, practical tools, insights and education programmes provided by the Alliance membership to support its global ambitions for shared innovation across all industry sectors.

The partnership forms part of a more global approach of collaboration with academic researchers worldwide led by the Bouygues Construction Research & Development department. With its Design Lab unit actively involved in projects led by The Cambridge Service Alliance, the Group is aiming to adopt new technologies and new digital design methods to build the constructions of tomorrow.

Speaking of the partnership, Chair of Bouygues Construction United Kingdom, Fabienne Viala said: “Innovation for the benefit of our customers, communities, and the environment is critical. We very much look forward to partnering with such a prestigious academic institution and are proud to be contributing to Cambridge and its regional reputation for excellence and innovation by sharing our research and experience.”

Marie-Luce Godinot, Bouygues Construction Group Executive VP in charge of Digital Transformation, Innovation and Sustainable Development said: “Digital Twin is at the heart of our digital transformation and innovation strategy. We are delighted to partner with the Cambridge Service Alliance to accelerate research and development to better capture and create value for our clients, thanks to digital twin, both in terms of new services and enhanced experience. This will enrich our current work with Dassault Systemes to power a new generation of collaborative platform simplifying and streamlining construction project management and interactions across the value chain to increase productivity, compliance and predictability for the benefit of our clients.”

Mohamed Zaki, Deputy Director of Cambridge Service Alliance, the University of Cambridge, said: “We are delighted that Bouygues Construction has joined the Cambridge Service Alliance, contributing its wealth of innovative solutions to address challenges in sustainable construction. From a business perspective, new emerging digital technologies such as digital twins are critical for the future of construction industry. It will support the development of transformational new services and achieve long-term competitive advantages, but only if these technologies have practical applications. Through this joint research collaboration, we will work alongside Bouygues Construction to identify best practices to enable successful service business model innovation powered by digital twins.”

About Bouygues Construction:
With 58,000 responsible and committed employees in more than 60 countries, Bouygues Construction designs, builds and operates projects in the sectors of building, civil works and energies and services. A leader in sustainable construction, the Group sees shared innovation as its primary added value and ensures that health and safety are its top priorities. It has pledged to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by 30% by 2030 and offers its customers a wide range of low-carbon solutions.
In 2020, Bouygues Construction generated sales of €12 billion.
Operating in the UK for over 20 years, we have progressively grown in the sectors of:
• Building (Bouygues UK), including property development (Linkcity and Uliving)
• Infrastructure (Bouygues Energies & Services, Bouygues Travaux Publics and VSL)
• Industry (Bouygues Energies & Services)
In 2020, the Bouygues Construction Group generated sales of €12 billion, with 58,000 employees.

About Cambridge Service Alliance:
The Cambridge Service Alliance is a unique partnership between the University of Cambridge and some of the world’s leading businesses. It was founded in 2010 to help global companies design and deliver successful complex service systems. Since then, digitalisation has transformed the business landscape. Today, our principal focus is on harnessing emerging digital technologies such as digital twins and AI to formulate a digital transformation strategy, create new business models, drive revenues and improve customer experience. Since its inception in 2010 industrial partners have included BAE Systems, Caterpillar, CEMEX, GEA, HCL, IBM, Pearson and Zoetis. In collaboration with our industrial partners, we are committed to experimenting, designing and delivering today the tools, education and insights needed for firms to become at the forefront of service transformation in the digital era.
The Cambridge Service Alliance is a research centre located at the Institute for Manufacturing, at the University of Cambridge, UK.

For more information, please visit https://cambridgeservicealliance.eng.cam.ac.uk