Threefold are working on a 23,000sqft deep retrofit project for The Crown Estate to create a new Cat A+ workplace on Regent Street, which is currently under construction.
Having worked with The Crown Estate on their 'Future Office' competition and speculating on the future of workspace through a re-envisioning of the The Crown Estate’s commercial portfolio, we used these ideas and concepts to create a healthy, flexible and inspirational workspace for modern day working.
Our refurbishment and extension of this fine Grade II listed building in a prominent position on Regent Street looks to restore, extend and revitalise the building, enhancing the existing provision and creating a new identity for the space. We have installed new sustainable services throughout and created a new roof terrace to enhance the amenity, wellness and biodiversity provision of the building. Each of the six floors of Cat A+ workspace has been designed to create a variety of task-based work and amenity spaces to suit contemporary modes of working. The design uses natural materials and planting to inject colour and pattern into the space, sensitively adapting the interior whilst referencing some of the original heritage features of the building.
The project sees the addition of a roof terrace sitting above the rooftops of Westminster with views out across London, which reintegrates green infrastructure into the urban environment. This terrace completes the offering for the office floors below by creating an external gathering and event space. The proposed layout has been developed to create strategic zones for different types of use, with fixed seating and planting located towards the back of the terrace to minimise their impact from street level and offer shelter from the elements.
Within this design, a long-term approach to planting was considered with regard to biodiversity and ecology. As part of the Client’s Development Sustainability Principles, it was imperative that we create a rooftop which encouraged biodiversity and an improvement in air quality, in accordance with The Crown Estate’s ‘Wild West End’ greening strategy. A mixture of plants have therefore been used to ensure year round foliage, with additional plants for seasonal variation. In addition, ‘bee blocks’ and bird/bat boxes have been incorporated into the external walls to contribute to the wildlife at roof level, and this has been designed in tandem with an ecologist to ensure a holistic approach. The above proposal reintroduces semi-natural habitats to the site in order to positively contribute to creating green space between the areas of parkland which exist within the urban environment as it stands.
Client: The Crown Estate
Type: Commercial
Area: 23,000sqft
Status: Construction
Location: London