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The King Of Duke Street
The £75m redevelopment of 30 Duke Street, London has become the king of sustainable commercial construction. Will it win Commercial Project of the year at this week’s G-Awards?
Situated opposite Fortnum & Mason, in the heart of the West End, the project (led by Great Portland Estates and main contractor Mace) replaces two mid-century buildings with a striking eight-storey scheme by Make Architects. It is setting new benchmarks in circular construction, particularly for glass recovery and reuse.
Glas Forever
At the heart of this transformation is Saint-Gobain Glass’s Glass Forever programme, a pioneering initiative that enables end-of-life flat glass to be removed from deconstructed buildings and remanufactured into high-performance glazing for new developments.
The glass used in the former French Railways House and its Jermyn Street neighbour didn’t go to landfill. Instead, it formed the foundation of a circular success story. Through the Glass Forever programme, over 12 tonnes of post-consumer cullet were recovered during the deconstruction phase by contractor John F Hunt, working closely with Saint-Gobain Glass.
Cradle to Cradle
This end-of-life glass will be used to manufacture ORAÉ, the world’s first lower carbon, Cradle-to-Cradle certified glass product with an Environmental Product Declaration (EPD). ORAÉ is manufactured in the UK and contains at least 70% recycled glass and delivers a 42% reduction in carbon emissions compared to standard float glass.
At 30 Duke Street, 100% of above-ground glazing – a total of 35.6 tonnes – will be remanufactured into ORAÉ, resulting in a carbon saving of approximately 30 tonnes of CO₂ emissions.
Solar control
Installed by façade contractor OAG, the chosen product is ORAÉ Cool-Lite SKN 183 (II), a next-generation solar control glass that provides high light transmission while reducing overheating – a key factor in energy-efficient façade design.
Early engagement & industry collaboration
The success of the glazing strategy at 30 Duke Street was made possible by early and deep collaboration. From the outset, Saint-Gobain Glass technical specialists worked alongside Make Architects, Mace and Great Portland Estates to embed circular economy principles into the specification. The result is a model that goes beyond compliance and embraces full lifecycle thinking.
For Saint-Gobain Glass, engaging at design stage is critical. It ensures that the right product is specified not just for performance and aesthetics but also for sustainability, recovery and reuse. Richard Calcutt, the technical projects manager at Saint-Gobain Glass, worked closely with deconstruction teams to develop protocols that maximise the recovery of glazing in challenging urban environments.
While Saint-Gobain Glass spearheaded the circular glazing approach, the ethos extended across the project. Approximately 78% of the steel structure is reclaimed – the UK’s largest use of reclaimed structural steel to date – resulting in 744 tonnes of carbon savings. Other sustainable highlights include 100% recycled aluminium window frames, saving 82 tonnes of carbon, reclaimed Portland stone, making up 17% of the façade cladding, and 250 tonnes of carbon saved by reusing raised access flooring.
Setting a new standard
The 30 Duke Street development is the first commercial project in the UK to deliver 100% recycled flat glass and aluminium in the façade. It is also the first London project to implement the Glass Forever programme at scale, demonstrating the real-world viability of a closed-loop-glazing lifecycle.
As the construction industry accelerates towards net zero, demand for lower carbon products such as ORAÉ and services such as Glass Forever is only set to grow. Installers who understand these innovations – and how to integrate them into commercial projects – will be better positioned to meet the expectations of developers, architects and occupiers alike.
Pictures here and over:
A Saint-Gobain Glass Forever collection lorry, that was used to recycle an old building into a new one (still under construction).
Article written by Cathryn Ellis
23rd November 2025