The Grade II Listed St Botolph’s Hall sits as one of the few remaining historic elements of Victorian Spitalfields, and gained the status of a “cause celebre” in the campaign led by Dan Cruickshank to protect the architectural heritage of this part of London.

Following an invited competition from a list of architects specifically drawn up by English Heritage, Hammerson Plc appointed Matthew Lloyd Architects to resolve a long-standing design problem in Spital Square: how to accommodate both the aesthetic demands of the Grade II Listed St Botolph’s Hall and the commercial objectives of the site’s owners.

The resulting scheme consists of a new apartment building of fourteen 1 and 2 bedroom flats above a ground floor restaurant, facing onto Bishops Square and leaving a clear gap between itself and the Hall. Within the gap with a transparent single storey glass structure is created, linking it to the carefully restored Hall.The design protects the status of the Hall within its new commercial setting and increases its importance. All three elements of the ground floor (new building, glass link, St Botolph’s Hall) form a single restaurant unit, housing Galvin La Chapelle and Café a Vin.

The new apartment building is clad in a terracotta rainscreen, designed with strong reference to the colour palette of the original Victorian terracotta details on the Hall. The two buildings now form a pair which sit with a real sense of presence among their corporate steel and glass neighbours.

RIBA Award 2010 Grand Designs Award 2009

Client: Hammerson UK / Native Land Location: London E1 Completed: 2008/09 Contract Value: £5.3m