The Cube

Project Overview

Butler & Young Associates were appointed by Barking & Dagenham Trading Partnership (BDTP) to deliver a full multi-disciplinary consultancy service for the laboratory-to-office conversion of the ground floor at The Cube, a four-storey (4,234m²) 1980s purpose-built science and R&D building located on the LondonEast UK campus in Dagenham.

BDTP is an extended arm of the London Borough of Barking & Dagenham and acquired the LondonEast UK campus in 2018. The Cube is one of several buildings on the campus and forms a key part of BDTP’s wider regeneration and estate strategy.

The building comprises a combination of large and small Category 2 laboratories, write-up areas, cellular offices, and meeting spaces, arranged in a modular configuration to allow future reconfiguration. The top two floors remained occupied by tenanted laboratories throughout the project, presenting a significant challenge in maintaining uninterrupted laboratory services during and after construction.

Project Details

The brief, issued by BDTP as client, required the re-modelling of the ground floor from laboratory accommodation to office use, while ensuring that all building services serving the upper-floor laboratories remained fully operational. Historically, mechanical and electrical services were interlinked across all floors, making service separation both technically complex and operationally sensitive.

Butler & Young Associates undertook early-stage investigations on behalf of BDTP, including detailed surveys of existing mechanical, electrical, and laboratory systems. These were supported by consultations with the facilities management team to assess plant condition, known issues, and remaining life expectancy. This process informed the development of a preferred design strategy based on separating ground floor services from those serving the upper laboratory floors.

The agreed design solution introduced standalone HVAC and electrical systems for the ground floor, with coordinated modifications to the fire alarm system to retain whole-building life safety compliance. Structural checks, fire compartmentation requirements, and the controlled removal, relocation, and decontamination of redundant laboratory services were identified and incorporated into the design.

Throughout the commission, Butler & Young acted as lead consultant and Principal Designer, working directly with BDTP and managing Building Surveying and Structural Engineering subconsultants within the project team. The scope covered RIBA Stages 0–7, including programme management, cost planning, planning considerations, tendering, construction-stage collaboration, and post-completion feedback.

Project Deliverables

• RIBA Stages 0–1 strategic definition, feasibility studies, and option appraisals for BDTP
• Surveys and condition assessments of existing plant and laboratory services
• Concept and detailed design of independent HVAC and electrical systems
• Coordination of fire alarm modifications to maintain whole-building compliance
• Structural assessments and fire compartmentation design
• Management of laboratory service removal, relocation, and decontamination
• RIBA Stage 3 spatial coordination and Stage 4 technical design documentation
• Specifications, employer’s requirements, and tender documentation
• Pre-tender and post-tender cost estimates and technical tender evaluation
• Contractor selection support and construction-stage collaboration
• Regular site inspections and quality control monitoring
• Witnessing of commissioning and resolution of defects at handover
• Post-occupancy support and performance feedback during Stage 7 (In Use)