Victoria Square, Woking

Victoria Square
Record height
Tallest in Woking since September 2019^[I]
Preceded by	Export House
General information
Status	Topped-out
Type	Residential Hotel Retail
Location	A320 Victoria Way, Woking, England
Coordinates	51.318343°N 0.560911°W / 51.318343; -0.560911
Construction started	June 2017
Completed	August 2022
Cost	£700 million
Height
Roof	117 m (384 ft)
Technical details
Floor count	34
Design and construction
Architect(s)	Benoy
Developer	Woking Borough Council Moyallen Group
Main contractor	Sir Robert McAlpine

Victoria Square is a residential skyscraper complex and wider town centre redevelopment project in Woking, Surrey, England. Upon topping out in September 2019,^[1] Tower 1 of the complex became the tallest building in Woking, overtaking Export House.^[2] Construction commenced in June 2017 and, following delays related to the COVID-19 pandemic,^[3] completed in August 2022. The total construction cost of the project was £700 million.^[4]

Construction

Victoria Square was constructed on the site of a seven-storey office building known as Circle 7, on a site bounded by Victoria Way to the west, the railway line leading to Woking railway station to the south, and Woking town centre to the east and north. Three towers were constructed as part of the development. The tallest two skyscrapers, Tower 1 and Tower 2, are both residential in nature and consist of 34 and 32 storeys, rising to a height of 117 m (384 ft) and 105 m (344 ft) respectively.^[5][6] The third building, Tower 3, contains a Hilton Hotel rising to 23 storeys and a height of 94 m (308 ft).^[7] The two buildings taller than 100 m (330 ft) make Woking the smallest settlement in the United Kingdom to have a skyscraper.^[a]

Additional construction as part of the Victoria Square development included a plant-covered multistorey car park containing the tallest spiral ramps in the United Kingdom,^[8] a ground-level shopping centre extension named Victoria Place (formerly The Peacocks) linked to the nearby High Street,^[9] a flagship Marks & Spencer food hall on the ground floor of Tower 1,^[10] new bus stops at the western end of the High Street Link Road, and public spaces including a square.^[11]

History

During Storm Aurore on 20 October 2021, three cladding panels from the under construction Hilton Hotel blew away from the façade of the building and fell to the street; there were no injuries.^[12] Victoria Way was closed as a precaution until February 2022 while more than 2,000 cladding panels on the hotel received additional reinforcement, further delaying construction of Victoria Square.^[13][14]

Notes

1. Under the Emporis Standards Committee, a skyscraper is defined as a multi-storey building which is at least 100 m (330 ft) tall. Any building from 35 to 100 m (115 to 328 ft) tall is generally considered to be a high-rise building.

References

1. "Victoria Square tops out". Retail Destination. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
2. "Tallest buildings in Woking". Emporis. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
3. Seymour, Jenny (17 September 2021). "Opening of Woking Victoria Square delayed by six months". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
4. Armstrong, Julie (18 May 2022). "Woking council must address £1.84billion debt and 'excessive risk' as Government fires warning shot". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
5. "Victoria Square Tower 1". Emporis. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
6. "Victoria Square Tower 2". Emporis. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
7. "Hilton Woking". Emporis. Archived from the original on 3 February 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
8. Clarke, Chloe (14 August 2021). "Behind the scenes look at Woking's Victoria Square development with Hilton hotel and plant-covered building". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
9. Lemieux, Hannah (23 March 2022). "Woking's £700m development opens first phase with Victoria Place's M&S anchor store". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
10. Wright, Georgia (23 March 2022). "M&S opens flagship store in Victoria Square development". Retail Gazette. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
11. Clarke, Chloe (4 February 2022). "Woking's Victoria Square has been transformed - latest pictures as project nears completion". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
12. Prior, Grant (25 October 2021). "Cladding panels "dislodged" from McAlpine hotel job". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
13. Clarke, Chloe (10 February 2022). "Victoria Way finally reopens as Woking Shopping centre reveals name change". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 May 2022.
14. White, Steven (20 December 2021). "Hilton Woking having half its panels reinforced with temporary fixings as Victoria Way reopening reviewed". Surrey Live. Retrieved 23 May 2022.