Outdated buildings in central London have been replaced with new office, retail and residential space designed by Buckley Gray Yeoman

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Buckley Gray Yeoman has completed two new buildings in Fitzrovia, to the north of Oxford Street in central London, on behalf of the Berners-Allsopp Estate. 42 Berners Street has replaced two post-war buildings at the northern end of the street, increasing floorspace from 17,500 to 36,500 square feet (GIA). The first to seventh floors provide office space, with a commercial unit on the ground and lower-ground floors. At 18 Wells Street a six-storey office building houses a retail unit at ground and basement levels, plus four floors of office space and two apartments on the fifth and sixth floors.

The practice’s design for 42 Berners Street, on one of Fitzrovia’s major thoroughfares, features an elegantly-proportioned facade of high-quality solid Portland stone from the Jordans Basebed. Contrasting window set-backs have panels of Roach Bed Portland Stone, filled with the shells of turreted molluscs. The depth of the window and door reveals gives the building a monolithic, sculptural quality and a quietly assertive presence on the street. The upper two storeys step back to create full-length outdoor terraces for office tenants.

On the ground floor a retail/restaurant unit sits to one side of the building’s lobby, which features a desk in black marble with visible seashells that mirrors the detailing of the Berners Street facade.

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The rear elevation of the building has been detailed with equal care, built of light-coloured brick with cantilevered terraces to provide each office floor with outdoor space. Windows throughout the building feature pale brass and grey metal window frames.

42 Berners Street offers exceptional cyclist facilities, with a cycle workshop for users of the building that provides a workstand and communal maintenance equipment. This is accompanied by 40 secure cycle parking spaces in the basement, comfortable shower and changing facilities, drying rooms for hanging wet clothing and WCs.

18 Wells Street responds to its location on a Fitzrovia side street with an elegant and contemporary exterior, clad in light brick laid in varying orientations and bonds to articulate the facade. Concrete lintels spanning the window bays add further visual interest.

On the ground floor, green faience-glazed bricks provide a hardwearing finish that differentiates the shop front. Aluminium-framed full-height windows with Juliette balconies face the street.

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Credits

Architect
BuckleyGrayYeoman
Structural engineer
Elliott ood
Services engineer
GDM Partnership
Cost consultant, CDM coordinator
Stace

Daylight/sunlight consultant
Delva Patman Redler
Fire engineer
MLM
Main contractor
Kind & Co (Berners St), Richardsons (Wells St)
Client
The Berners-Allsopp Estate