In the heart of Westminster, London, the London-based architectural studio SPPARC has restored and revived Greycoat Stores, a building of historic importance. The structure, a former Victorian-era warehouse for the Army & Navy Cooperative Society Ltd, had fallen into a state of disrepair and obscurity. The newly refurbished 90,000-square-foot (8,361-square-meter) building has been reimagined as a mixed-use development. SPPARC has revived the heritage building’s original Victorian charm, most notably reintroducing its previously lost red brick facade.
The warehouse at 10 Greycoat Place was designed by the prolific British architect Sir Reginald Blomfield. Originally built in 1899, it was used as a warehouse by the Army & Navy Cooperative Society. (Established in 1871 by a group of army and navy officers, the Army & Navy Cooperative Society was a department store that offered a range of products and services to members of the armed forces and their families.) The warehouse was converted into offices in 1959 when renovation works altered much of its Victorian character. Thomas Deckker, Senior Architect at Veretec (the restoration project’s executive architect) explains: “The brickwork was rendered, which destroyed the fine brick detail, and the frieze removed, which gave the whole building a utilitarian appearance.”
The mixed-use building comprises seven floors of office space, including the addition of a two-story roof extension with terraces (the sixth and seventh floors). The ground floor incorporates a reception, cafe, restaurant, and gym reception; an upper ground-floor level includes an office. In the basement, there is a gym, 190 bicycle parking spaces, showers, and lockers.
SPPARC maintained many of the previous warehouse features: for example, exposed original steel beams and brickwork create a pleasing industrial aesthetic.
“Standout features include new double-height oval windows with finely detailed bronze frames that span the first to fourth stories, allowing occupiers to benefit from abundant natural light,” says SPPARC. On the building’s fifth story, a row of circular windows, framed by a generous cornice, demarcate a new zinc and glass roof extension — this houses the sixth- and seventh-story penthouse workspaces.
At the front of Greycoat Stores, a series of stepped brick piers terminate at refurbished granite Doric columns on the building’s ground-floor level. “The proposal consists of feature curved precast spandrel panels inserted between traditionally hand-laid brick pilasters, with meticulous attention applied to align the brick courses across a horizontal and vertical rhythm, creating a coherent outcome,” explains SPPARC. The new articulated brickwork facade (using facing brick on prefabricated panels) replaces the building’s mid-century rendered brickwork and recalls its Victorian-era design.
On the ground-floor interior, sculptural timber panels create a warm and welcoming entrance to the reception area; here, the arched brickwork of the lift lobby continues the ornate pattern of the building’s exterior.
The restoration of Greycoat Stores is rated BREEAM Excellent and WiredScore Platinum (an assessment of digital connectivity in commercial real estate). The project retained more than 80 percent of the building’s heritage materials, including all of the internal primary steel and brickwork structures, achieving a total carbon saving of 494 kgC02/m2 and a 50 percent carbon emissions reduction (when compared to demolishing and rebuilding the structure). The all-electric building’s expansive south-facing windows, with integrated solar shading, maximize natural light, thereby reducing energy consumption.
“Drawing on extensive research of both the building’s own architectural history and the area’s rich surrounding heritage landscape, our sensitive, yet ambitious restoration, will allow Greycoat Stores to stand as a focal point on this important Westminster junction once again,” says Trevor Morriss, Principal at SPPARC.
