A London office tower block has installed a running track on its roof.
The ‘White Collar Factory’, next to Old Street’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’ now features a two-lane 150-metre track. Google are set to follow its example with a 200-metre “running trial” on the roof of its planned King’s Cross HQ.
The 16th-floor cushioned “rubber crumb” rooftop circuit was designed by architects Allford Hall Monaghan Morris. The track is marked with a start/finish line and lanes. Running obsessed employees will follow the anti-clockwise arrows to avoid collisions.
A first in Central London
Benjamin Lesser, development manager of the building’s developer Derwent London, said: “As far as we’re aware this is the first in central London. The cladding on the outside of the building is extended up and that provides a screen so runners are protected from winds and the edge. But it also has windows so you get incredible views in all directions. There are also showers and toilets on that floor and there is a cafe and terrace for the occupiers of the building.”
The track will initially be open to all occupiers of the building at any time but may have to introduce bookings if it proves popular with workers.
