The Chronicle
- Client: Supercity UK
- Contacts: Matthew Gray
25 Furnival Street comprises the full redevelopment of a site previously occupied by the offices of the Jewish Chronicle and delivers 50 high quality serviced apartments. Located on the eastern edge of the Chancery Lane conservation area the proposals add an additional 3 floors over the existing building and therefore a very high quality design response was required to achieve planning consent.
The Chancery Lane Conservation Area Character summary describes in detail the importance of individual buildings but it also seeks to define the general character of the area.
‘The variations and subtleties in modeling of building elevations are critical in providing vibrancy and animation to the street’.
The sites complexity was also enhanced by the presence of The Castle public house which was located on the corner of Furnival Street and Norwich Street.
The existing office building vacated by The Jewish Chronicle was undistinguished both in its poor contribution to the conservation area and its convoluted internal layouts. The façade of The Castle public house however constituted a well liked design and its loss would be challenging to justify, particularly as we were seeking to achieve significant gains in other areas. Proposals were therefore developed to demolish and rebuild the main building but retain the façade of the pub and incorporate into the overall design.
A ground floor business hub provides an important link from the serviced apartments to the traditional city business uses of the surrounding area.
Creating a new building of scale to sit comfortably within the context of the conservation area was challenging and required careful façade development both in terms of form and materials. The building was deliberately broken down into smaller elements – In part to respond to long distant views from the conservation area and also to successfully incorporate the retained façade of The Castle public house.
Brick was used as the predominant façade material enhanced with irregular glazed French lava stone inserts to bring a vibrancy to the whole.