Occupying a small Conservation Area on the edge of the City the Norton Folgate masterplan responds to the mixed local character bringing vacant buildings back into use and enhancing the public realm.

Occupying a prominent position on The City Fringe, Norton Folgate is one of the most complex projects delivered by British Land and architect team led by AHMM. The project comprises three urban blocks with the retention of historic buildings, creation of six new buildings and new public realm. When the project was conceived in 2012, retrofit was not a commonly used design solution for commercial developments. Norton Folgate sets new standards for retrofit, refurbishment, and redevelopment in London, demonstrating how reusing building fabric can form a part of the built environment industry’s approach to tackling the climate crisis.
The project regenerates a derelict, unsafe group of sites which had laid empty for a decade while improving the streetscape and setting of the Elder Street Conservation Area. The project not only delivers commercial space but creates a network of amenity spaces, allowing people to walk, meet, sit and experience this layered and rich part of London.
Rather than applying a blanket strategy the masterplan employs a building-by-building approach to the retained buildings using restoration, refurbishment, extension, remodelling and facade retention to breathe new life into the architecture with sensitively designed new buildings.
The forward-thinking sustainability brief, set over a decade ago, has resulted in the project meeting current GLA and LETI targets and stands as a model of sustainable development by embracing circular economy principles to their fullest. This is one of British Land’s largest scale all-electric, retrofit schemes, which majors on heat sharing between buildings whilst enabling the site to take advantage of future decarbonisation of the national grid.

THE MASTERPLANNER’S ACCOUNT: Paul Monaghan
Founding director: Allford Hall Monaghan Morris

The Norton Folgate site, Comprising three urban blocks, sits within the Elder Street conservation area and occupies a prominent position within the city fringe between the City of London and Shoreditch. While the conservation area is small, there are dramatic changes in character from one street to the next.

The masterplan has been developed to respond to this mixed character, bringing vacant or underused buildings back into use and reconnecting and enhancing the public realm. Rather than applying a blanket strategy, the masterplan employs a building-by-building approach to the retained existing buildings, using restoration, refurbishment, extension remodelling, and facade retention to breathe new life into the architecture.

Sensitively designed new buildings have been introduced in a palette of materials, including brick which was selected for its robustness, quality and appropriateness for the conservation area’s character.

Given the variegated character of Norton Folgate, four different architectural practices were brought together to diversify the architectural approach and style. Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) was appointed as master planner and designed three buildings namely, Blossom Yard and Studios, Nicholls and Clarke, and Loom Court, while Stanton Williams, Morris & Company, and DSDHA designed Elder Yard, Norton Folgate and Blossom Street, respectively, with East leading the public realm strategy.

Across the six buildings, a range of office types, with retail at ground level, has been created with the aim of attracting tenants from start-ups and SMEs to mature organisations and appealing to the local tech and creative industries. The public realm design enhances the tight network of existing streets and creates three new yard spaces that draw on the character of the surrounding historic blocks.