British studio Squire and Partners has renovated and vertically extended Space House in London, a pair of mid-century modern office buildings originally designed by architects George Marsh and Richard Seifert.
Squire and Partners aimed to celebrate the buildings while modernising the facilities to include a restaurant, clubhouse, rooftop terrace, bike storage, outdoor square and events space.
Originally completed by Marsh and Seifert in 1968, the grade-II listed Space House comprises a rectangular building called the Block connected by a three-storey bridge to a cylindrical high-rise called the Tower.
In collaboration with property developer Seaforth Land and real estate company Quadreal, Squire and Partners retained 90 per cent of Space House and replaced parts of the facade that had fallen into disrepair.
Distinguished by a faceted concrete exterior raised on Y-shaped columns, the Tower was extended by adding an office penthouse wrapped with outdoor terrace space.
The Block was also vertically extended to include a clubhouse with a rooftop terrace and bar.
Intending to honour the original design by Marsh and Seifert, Squire and Partners stripped back previous interventions that had been made to the buildings.
“Space House is a very special and rare listed design icon,” said Squire and Partners partner Tim Gledstone. “The opportunity for its full refurbishment demanded massive passion and drive to bring it back to life and reimagine it as something even better than it started out.”
“Originally built in 1968 and refurbished in 1996 and 2003, our design has removed the layers of interventions to retain, expose and celebrate the original architecture and vision,” Gedstone continued.
“We have created respectful and highly sustainable new additions to publicly activate the ground floor, accommodate modern working environments, and answer the needs of tomorrow’s occupier and visitor, prolonging the life of the building for many more years to come.”
Squire and Partners claims to have made significant carbon savings by retaining most of the buildings’ concrete structures and installing an automated window system for cooling.
“The completed and modernised Space House is fully electric and net zero carbon,” said the studio.
“The successful retention of 90 per cent of the original building saved an estimated 10,000 tonnes of carbon emissions.”
Sharing the faceted concrete exterior of Space House is Seifert’s Centre Point tower in London, which was converted into apartments by architecture firm Conran and Partners.
Brixton-based Squire and Partners was founded in 1976 by Michael Squire. Other projects by the studio include the transformation of a Victorian warehouse in London and a timber community centre built beside the Brixton Windmill.
The photography is by Gareth Gardner.
Project credits:
Client: Seaforth and Quadreal
Architect and interior designer: Squire and Partners
Structural engineer: Pell Frischmann
MEP, BREEAM and sustainability: Atelier Ten
Cost and commercial: Gardiner and Theobald
Landscape architects: Gustafson and Porter and Bowman
Construction: BAM
