No1 Neathouse Place

Client: Chesterfield Properties
Cost: £18m
Status: Completed 1997

Commissioned by Chesterfield Properties, No1 Neathouse place is a major reconstruction of a redundant 1960's office block near London's Victoria Station. Many unsuccessful attempts had been made to redevelop the site with the result that the building had languished empty for years.

The main challenge was that the floor-to-floor heights of the existing structure were well below the standard required for modern air-conditioned offices. However, by reconfiguring the core and creating small 'on floor' plant rooms in pods hung from the structure at each end of the building, it was not only possible to bring the building up to the high specification standards demanded in today's market but also to increase the nett lettable area by 10,000ft2 (total 94,000 ft2).

The building now commands one of the highest rental levels in the area.

Aesthetically the 'new' building features outward raking glazing to the southwest facade as a means of passively reducing solar heat gain and horizontally faceted glazing to the northeast to take advantage of the magnificent views across the London skyline.

'Planning gain', resulting from the increased office area, was dealt with entirely via environmental improvements which included a huge wind scoop above the Neathouse Place roadway which channels the building's previously notorious down-draft safely away from pedestrians.

"An ugly duckling turns beautiful".

Marcus Binney, The Times

"Buildings should be re-used whenever possible because they contain a huge store of invested energy. But as Neathouse Place shows, much ingenuity is often required to achieve a successful transformation".

Peter Davey, Editor, Architectural Review.

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