(BARCELONA) - Henderson Park, the pan-European private equity real estate firm, and Hines, the international real estate firm, have announced the start of construction of their unique T3 Diagonal Mar building, located in 22@ North in Barcelona. Measuring 3,610 square meters, it is an office building made entirely of wood, with ambitious ESG credentials and fitted out with the latest technology.
T3 Diagonal Mar is the first fully wooden building of its kind to be constructed by Henderson Park and Hines in Europe and is part of Hines’ innovative “T3” family of buildings, a new generation of offices built on three pillars: the warmth and sustainability of timber, superior transit connectivity and cutting-edge technology. Work on the project began at the end of May and is seeking scheduled completion in 2022.
Designed to meet the highest standard of sustainability and technology, T3 Diagonal Mar is constructed from 100% timber with floorplates of 600 square meters and will include a terraced roof and private gardens, further enhancing its ESG and wellbeing credentials. The advantage of using wood during construction is there is no embodied carbon and it is faster to build, creating less pollution, no waste, and less interference with local communities. Upon completion, T3 Diagonal Mar will have a solid wood Class AA structure, creating a smart, sustainable and healthy place that aspires to obtain the LEED Gold, WELL and WiredScore distinctions.
The completed office, with its avant-garde design, will meet the health and wellness needs of employees in a post-COVID world, complemented by advanced technology, unparalleled amenities and sustainability at its core to deliver state-of-the-art space that meets the demands of modern occupiers.
The T3 Diagonal Mar project is located in the heart of one of Barcelona’s most exciting destinations, the 22@ district, where Henderson Park and Hines already have significant space under development, including a 350-bed purpose-built student accommodation asset and 3,610 sq m office building on Cristóbal de Moura street. 22@ is one of the most important innovation hubs in Europe and is particularly well-known for its excellent connectivity with the rest of the city, as well as being home to a large number of successful ongoing regeneration projects.
Batlle i Roig is the architectural firm in charge of project design and supervision.
Peter Epping, Global Head of ESG, at Hines, commented: “This is a hugely exciting project in one of Europe’s major cities which demonstrates our ongoing commitment to our ESG best practices at Hines. The launch of one of Europe’s first wooden office buildings is an encouraging step as we look to reduce both embodied carbon and carbon emissions for every asset we own, manage or develop. Aside from reducing embodied carbon, wooden buildings have further advantages over traditional builds and we are actively seeking to roll out this type of product across Europe in the coming years as we look to protect our planet and build sustainable communities.”
Vanessa Gelado, Senior Managing Director and Country Head of Hines in Spain, said: “The city of Barcelona stands out for combining professional and educational opportunities with an extremely high quality of life. A fact that has captivated the most innovative companies in the world to secure office space here to enhance their corporate culture. T3 Diagonal Mar, with its exceptional design and ESG credentials, will enable us to offer the best building in its class to meet the future needs of occupiers, and in doing so, help them attract and retain the best talent in the market.”
Gijs Molenaar, Managing Director at Henderson Park, said: “Given the office sector’s rapid evolution over the last year and a half, it is now more important than ever that modern workplaces meet the increasing demands of occupiers for buildings that deliver high quality, technology-driven interior space inside buildings with best-in-class ESG credentials. T3 Diagonal Mar encapsulates this shift, with a unique design that promotes wellbeing, as evidenced by WELL certification, as well as environmental responsibility, through opting for cross-laminated timber as material for the mainframe, which targets much better CO2 credentials in the construction of this LEED Gold building. This aligns perfectly with the wider 22@ district, which is quickly becoming one of the most exciting innovation hubs in Europe.”
CBRE is the consultant in charge of the commercialization of the building.
About Henderson Park
Henderson Park is a pan-European private equity property manager based in London. The firm has invested approximately $10 billion in building a portfolio of flagship real estate assets across Europe, with a presence in major cities and capitals in France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Poland, Portugal, Spain and the UK. Henderson Park seeks high quality assets in prime locations where it can identify the potential for unlocking or creating value through asset management, or by taking on and working in complex situations. The company’s current portfolio is diversified across various sectors such as office, logistics, multifamily, student housing, hospitality and retail, including several real estate development projects. Henderson Park strives to work and build long-term strategic relationships with the best local partners. Henderson Park is spearheaded by Nick Weber, its CEO and founding partner.
Henderson Park is a member of the United Nations PRI.
About Hines
Hines is a privately owned global real estate investment firm founded in 1957 with a presence in 240 cities in 27 countries. Hines oversees a portfolio of assets under management valued at approximately $160.9 billionÂą, including $81.7 billion in assets under management for which Hines serves as investment manager, and $79.2 billion representing more than 172.9 million square feet of assets for which Hines provides third-party property-level services. Historically, Hines has developed, redeveloped or acquired approximately 1,450 properties, totaling over 485 million square feet. The firm has more than 180 developments currently underway around the world. With extensive experience in investments across the risk spectrum and all property types, and a pioneering commitment to ESG, Hines is one of the largest and most-respected real estate organizations in the world. Visit www.hines.com for more information.
Since entering Europe in 1991, Hines has grown its European platform to include offices in 16 cities as well as a presence in 62 cities in 13 countries. Hines oversees a portfolio of assets under management valued at approximately €26.3 billion of assets under management in Europe, including €21.9 billion for which Hines serves as an investment manager and €4.4 billion representing more than 3.8 million square metres of assets for which Hines provides third-party property-level services, in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom.
ÂąIncludes both the global Hines organisation as well as RIA AUM as of December 31, 2020.
Visit www.hines.com for more information.