On the fifth floor of London’s County Hall, a huge space that for decades has echoed the beating wings of perching pigeons, is full of people gathering around a cup of coffee and typing on their laptops.

Built in the 1920s, the large building opposite the Palace of Westminster on the south bank of the River Thames was home to the Greater London Council (GLC).

Until 1986 the offices and corridors were filled with local politicians from the capital, but the GLC was then disbanded by Margaret Thatcher and the building vacated.

Some parts have since been redeveloped into tourist attractionsand the site contains two hotels. However, these people based on the fifth floor have a very different goal.

“We have a rule: If you don’t solve climate change, you don’t enter the building,” says Andrew Wordsworth, CEO and co-founder of Sustainable Ventures, which manages the space.

The company was established in 2011 to help support climate-focused technology start-ups and moved into its County Hall base last year following a £6.5m refurbishment of the Grade II* listed building.

It now claims to be home to Europe’s largest climate technology start-up cluster, with more than 120 companies based on the fifth floor and some 1,000 people working there.

“Everyone here has a common goal. They all do different things, they’re all interested in different sectors, but everyone has this common mission,” says Wandsworth.

Although traces of the building’s former life in the 1920s remain, with the old office partitions still visible in the original wooden flooring, the interior now looks very different, reflecting the ongoing eco-tech work .

On the lobby wall is what looks like a large work of art, with curved strips of moss growing against a gray background above a drain pipe.

It may look like an unusual work of art, but it’s actually a form of “living wall,” absorbing pollutants from the room while helping to cool the building, says Nick Naidu, founder and CEO of ‘Alive Labs.

“There is a real desire to create “green walls”, but green walls struggle to meet the challenge, they simply do not succeed. They are quite expensive, they fail most of the time and so we found that there is a real shortage. innovation in this space.

His company therefore had the idea of ​​using another form of plant life.

“We work with moss because they like to grow in urban environments. They evolved in London, they survived our period of industrialization and are therefore quite robust,” he says.

The company has been part of Sustainable Ventures for several years and, like several others working with the company, helped transform the century-old interior.

U-Build is another, which has created industrial-looking office spaces, meeting pods and desks.

“In this particular project, everything is made from plywood, which makes it very sustainable because it is a renewable material,” explains Hannah Towler, partner at the company.

The system includes large wooden panels that are bolted without having to be attached to concrete walls. This means they can be moved and offices modified as needs change.

“We are well aware that the construction sector is particularly wasteful of its materials, or perhaps. Office design contributes largely to this and the average rental period (of offices) is only two years and 10 month.

“The key is flexibility, the ability to move things around, adaptability,” she says.

Even the toilets look and sound very different from the average office, with transparent lids made from the same material used for police riot shields.

The reason is that 120 liters of air are used to flush waste down the drain, thereby reducing water consumption, says David Hollander, president of Propelair, which is behind the devices.

“Our toilets use around six or seven liters less water per flush, which not only saves the planet but also saves significant money. It’s a much cheaper way to operate a toilet, which uses less water.”

He says the cost of toilets makes them prohibitive for homes, and the company markets its devices in the commercial world.

“Like everyone at Sustainable, we believe in saving the planet and Propelair is saving it one toilet flush at a time.”

Not all renovations used newly developed technologies.

In the middle of the office kitchen, under lampshades made from recycled coffee cups is a bulky wooden table on which the words “James Davies is a Snake” are etched among doodles, hearts and doodles .

In its previous life, this worktop was a chemistry bench at a school in Hertfordshire.

Meeting rooms and telephone booths were also soundproofed using airline uniforms formerly worn by KLM staff.

“It’s great to bring this to life and show that when you’re looking at building materials, reusing things can be as good as creating a really innovative product,” Mr Wordsworth said.

“We have over 70 different sustainable materials and techniques used throughout the space.”

Mr Wordsworth says County Hall has proven a popular venue for start-ups, with the space now 99 per cent full.

“Our biggest problem is that we turn people away.

“We are looking at other spaces in County Hall to expand this space and we are obviously building on the experience here to go to Manchester and Glasgow over the next couple of years.”

He is also encouraged by the growth of companies working towards sustainable development and fighting climate change.

“Ultimately the world will run out of new materials, landfills, etc.,” he says.

“That’s why we absolutely believe that in the long term, as we move towards a carbon neutral future, everything will have to be sustainable.”

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