Sensitive retrofit and extension of Grade II-listed Space House in Covent Garden creates 255,000 sq ft of workspace, flexible retail, events space and improved public realm.

Space House is a Grade-II listed brutalist building comprised of a distinctive cylindrical tower, rectilinear block and connecting bridge. Originally designed by Richard Seifert and Partners and built in 1968, Squire & Partners’ ambitious retrofit for Seaforth Land and QuadReal Property removes layers of subsequent interventions to celebrate the existing architecture, while adding ground floor retail spaces, an improved public realm and an extension to accommodate a total of 255,000 sqft of intelligently designed workspace.

90% of the original structure has been meticulously restored and retained, saving an estimated 10,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. Two new floors have been added to the Tower reinstating Seifert’s intention for a crisp roofline silhouette. The extension involved the painstaking process of unstitching the precast T-form structures that crowned the building, for vital renovation, before reinstating them above a new section of cruciform structures, carefully matched to the concrete composition of the original 1960s units.

Car-centric elements have been reinvented for the future, turning the underground car park into cycle storage for 600 bikes and end-of-journey facilities. What was an onsite petrol station canopy at the base of the tower has been reimagined as the Filling Station restaurant, activating the street level and opening it up to public use.

Upon entering the tower, occupants are welcomed by a spacious double-height lobby and reception. The 10,000 sq ft circular, column-free floorplates are flooded with natural light, with the top ten floors offering unobstructed 360-degree views of the city. The building’s character has been celebrated through polished concrete floors, new terrazzo flooring in the common areas, and original mosaic tiling in the stair cores retained.

Heralded “one of the most important redevelopment projects of our time” by Historic England, Space House answers the needs of tomorrow’s occupier and visitor – prolonging the life of the building for many more years to come.