Wates has secured the job to convert a grade-II listed landmark building in central London into a hi-tech life sciences hub.

The Victoria House scheme is the brainchild of joint venture developers Oxford Properties and Pioneer Group.

They plan to convert the 300,000 sq ft Bloomsbury Square building into Grade A wet lab-enabled life sciences space.

The property will feature 80,000 sq ft of office, amenity, meeting and retail spaces and an eighth-floor club lounge and a roof terrace overlooking central London.

Victoria House boasts several heritage features behind its neo-classical façade, including an Art Deco ballroom, ornamental brasswork and the original Italian marble entrance lobby.

In the conversion, the main fabric of the building, including its heritage finishes and features will be retained, along with the existing original windows.

Wates, in partnership with  SES Engineering Services, will work to reduce the operational and embodied carbon footprint of the building through renewable technology and implementing modern methods of construction, such as utilising offsite prefabricated modules for M&E services.

The existing M&E infrastructure will be upgraded, including installing energy-efficient LED lighting and heat recovery throughout the air conditioning system. The finished building will also be primarily heated by air source heat pumps.

Since the start of 2021, Oxford has completed approximately £2.5bn of life sciences investment and secured a further £4 billion of follow-on development opportunities.