London based practice Fletcher Priest Architects has recently been granted planning permission for the major refurbishment of 55 Gresham Street, an existing 8 story office block situated in the heart of the City of London between Bank and St Pauls.
The new scheme will have a new level entrance and reception, with remodeled cores, new services, new façades to the South, West and North plus an additional new 9th floor pavilion.
The offices will be fully refurbished and extended with the retention of the existing substructure, ground and above structure. New terraces will be provided at levels 7 and 9 by removing the existing rooftop plant and the street level entrance covered which will be reconfigured to provide step free access. A new distinctive glazed pavilion will replace the existing plant with views of the surrounding city skyline.
The exterior façades will be re-clad in composite stone, drawing inspiration from both the immediate built context and the wider history of the site. Inset glazed panels set within the elegant stone framework will be crafted from metal and glass which references the surrounding Guild Halls and typifies the importance and history of craftsmanship in this part of London.
Commenting on the project, Ed Williams of Fletcher Priest said ‘we are delighted our design for 55 Gresham Street achieved planning and look forward to taking the project through to completion with Beltane Asset Management. Gresham Street follows on from several of our recent projects such as Finsbury Circus House and Carmelite Riverside where we managed to retain the majority of the existing structure and fabric and design top quality grade A office space whilst significantly increasing the net area – in this case an additional 40%’.
Located approximately 100m from the Guildhall and a few minutes’ walk from the Bank of England, the original building, constructed in 1991, comprised eight storeys of tired, postmodern design which detracted from the typical building quality in Gresham Street.
The project is due for completion in Q4 2017
