Broadwick Street
- Client: Shaftesbury Capital Plc
- Contacts: Jason Rudolph, Simon Gillett, Angus Drummond
This corner site on Broadwick Street and Marshall Street has been completely transformed and brought back into successful use with new shops, offices and apartments. Its strategic position means that it now creates an attractive and inviting entry into Carnaby Village from the east.
A compelling two storey retail unit makes the most of the prime corner location with a niche restaurant utilising a smaller more intimate unit further along Broadwick Street. Prime office accommodation above is accessed via a striking new reception and two apartments provide exclusive central living.
Once the London headquarters of fashion chain Jaeger this tired, brutalist building had lost its pizzazz. It no longer contributed to the streetscape or felt part of the offbeat Carnaby vibe. With major repair needed at podium level, a significant change was required.
The client’s aspiration was to restore, improve and significantly extend the life of the building. Although given the high standards and appeal needed to create desirable and sustainable office and retail space, this was a building that needed to move a very great distance from its existing form. It was important an aspect to create an architectural response that was crisp, modern and witty to echo the character and vibrancy of the setting.
The new facade design combines a rhythm and hierarchy with a defined plot width to allow the building at last to sit comfortably in context.
Material choice was very important with the original rough cast concrete being replaced with a much more textural palette contrasting an elegant slim format handmade brick with smooth glazed terracotta panels. The panels also play a dual role in disguising the depth of the cantilevered structure within thus maintaining a vital elegance to the new facades.
An imposing two storey retail unit makes the most of the prime corner location with a niche restaurant utilising a smaller more intimate unit further along Broadwick Street.
INTERIORS
Prime office accommodation is accessed from a new reception and two apartments provide exclusive central living. A key feature of the office floor plates is the use of exposed services which make the most of the available height of the existing structure. All ducts and fan coil units are exposed and clad in polished aluminium sheet and have been meticulously integrated with the existing building structure.
The original office reception interior features a striking organic timber fin wall. Its sculptural quality leads visitors through from the glass entrance doors to the interior of the building. Rusticated concrete wall panels provide contrast along with further fine timber details.
