Squire & Partners has sensitively retrofitted and extended the iconic Grade II-listed Space House in Covent Garden for Seaforth Land to create 255,000 sq ft of intelligently designed workspace, flexible retail and events space and an improved public realm in one of the UK’s largest BREEAM ‘Outstanding’ listed buildings.
Built by Seifert and Partners in 1968, the distinctive cylindrical tower and rectilinear block were refurbished in 1996 and again in 2003. Squire & Partners’ designs reinstate Seifert’s design intent by removing the layers of subsequent interventions to retain, expose and celebrate the original architecture, whilst creating new, complementary additions to accommodate modern working environments.
The existing buildings have been reimagined, with a sensitive extension added to the tower - to create a taller, better proportioned top to the building as it was originally intended and conceal new plant including air source heat pumps - and to the block to create a new club house and external terrace accessible to all tenants.
Client QuadReal, HB Reavis, Seaforth
Architect & Principal Designer Squire & Partners
BREEAM, Sustainability & MEP Atelier Ten
Structural Engineer Pell Frischmann
Quantity Surveyor Gardiner & Theobald
Landscape Designer Gustafson Porter + Bowman
Heritage Consultants Donald Insall Associates
Development & Project Manager Avison Young
Planning Consultant Gerald Eve
Enabling & Demolition Works Erith
Restoration contractor Paye Stonework & Restoration
'Squire & Partners has done an extraordinary job in bringing to life and even elevating Richard Seifert and George Marsh's original intent from 1968, when Space House was first built. The result speaks for itself – a beautiful, experiential, state-of-the-art, mid-century office building of which Squire & Partners, Seaforth, and our partners can all be incredibly proud.' – Tyler Goodwin, Founder and CEO, Seaforth Land
‘London’s coolest new building of 2024’ – Twentieth Century Society
6 years ahead of the RIBA 2030 Target
BREEAM Outstanding: the largest Grade II listed building in the UK to achieve the rating
NABERS 4.5 stars targeted
Fitwel 2 stars targeted
History
An early adopter of hybrid in-situ concrete construction, Seifert’s original design utilised precast cruciform concrete blocks laid out in a grid pattern, which enabled fast and low cost construction.
Standing the test of time, this forward thinking method of construction has allowed for additional floors to be added with relative ease - and limited impact on the overall look of the facade - by inserting a new layer of replica cruciform blocks.
Construction
Reinstating Seifert’s original design intent for a crisp roofline silhouette, the new rooftop extension atop the tower creates an additional 12% of lettable office space, as well as creating a 3,600 sq ft roof terrace. It also conceals a new, high-performing services installation utilising air source heat pumps, which replaces cluttered AC units that had amassed on the roof level by previous occupants.
This involved the painstaking process of unstitching the precast T-form structures that crowned the building, for vital renovation, before reinstating them above a new section of cruciform structures, carefully matched to the concrete composition of the original 1960s units.
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Promoting active lifestyles
Built in an era advanced by the popularity of the automobile, car-centric elements have been reimagined. One of three ramps to the basement has been retained to create dedicated cycle access, and the underground car park now provides expansive cycle storage for 600 bikes alongside showers, lockers, drying rooms and changing facilities. Elsewhere, the two-storey basement is punctured with a void to deliver 16,500 sq ft of flexible double-height event space.
What was an onsite petrol station canopy at the base of the tower has been reimagined as the Filling Station restaurant, activating the street level and opening it up to public use.
Sustainability
Adding external insulation was impossible without altering the façade’s historic character. Instead, the team focused on high-performance glazing and a smart cooling system featuring operable windows.
Heating and cooling is provided by bespoke chilled beams, which fit seamlessly within the existing radial ceiling coffers. Sensors monitor daylight to reduce energy consumption for lighting. Low-flow fixtures were specified to reduce potable water consumption.
The revitalised building provides a highly connected and diverse digital platform for its occupiers, with Fitwel 2-star and Wired Score Platinum certification.
