The building fronts onto Charterhouse Square, a small and historic pocket of green space close to Smithfield Market on the edge of the City. The square, and the Grade I-listed Charterhouse complex (a former monastery and almshouses dating from the fourteenth century) adjacent to it, form part of a conservation area – a highly sensitive setting for the refurbished building.
Our strategy for meeting the rapid programme set for the development was to retain as much of the existing building as possible. Formerly a hat factory, it had a dated feel both outside and in, with little external character or identity and inefficient floorplates. We rationalised these by stripping out the existing stairs and risers and creating a new, more compact core.
