Bogle Architects has transformed a corner site building at the junction of Fenchurch St and Cullum St, in the heart of the City of London. The client, aik, required a distinctive intervention that would announce the building and increase its visibility from Fenchurch St, as well as the rationalisation and full refurbishment of the 1st, 2nd and 6th floors, to create 11.700 sq ft of class ‘A’ office space.
The project’s ‘signature’ element is the dramatic, multi-faceted ‘feature’ wall. Precision engineered, the refined geometry of the new wall is achieved using interlinked highly polished stainless steel convex panels, extending from the lobby interior through the glazed facade to wrap around the building’s street façade.
Holm Bethge, Project Director of Bogle Architects,
comments: “The inspiration for the use of stainless steel came from the neighbouring Lloyd’s of London building, as well as the sophisticated quality of the classic Rolex watch-strap. The returns of each polished curved sheet are treated in a contrasting hand finished texture, creating additional depth and interest.”
Reza Keschawarz, Director of aik, states:
“Bogle Architects’ innovative approach and creative flair has delivered a re-energised building with a dynamic entrance and successfully rationalised office accommodation. The scheme’s distinctive, elegant design has created a highly successful professional working environment.”
The wall’s finely detailed design was custom made by Marzorati Ronchetti, leading Italian manufacturers of specialist metalwork, whose international portfolio includes Louis Vuitton’s Milan showroom, the lobby area for 30 St Mary Axe in London and a spectacular exhibition installation at MoMA in New York.
John Roake, Marzorati Ronchetti’s UK representative, adds: “Our creative collaboration with Bogle Architects has been an exciting creative process. The resulting design is an intricate matrix of convex shapes, producing a deliberate kaleidoscopic fracturing of the streetscape.”
The reconfiguration of the entrance and lobby area involved the realignment of the lobby façade with the main building envelope, using frameless glazing to create a seamless connection between the reception area and the street beyond.
The coherence of the design is further enhanced by a new floating canopy and the introduction of a large, acid-etched steel reception desk. The project also includes new steel gates to the rear of the building, featuring a punched design that reinterprets the geometry of the lobby’s distinctive feature wall, a visual reference that successfully reinforces Bogle Architects’ coherent re-imaging of the entire building.
The wider brief also involved stripping out three floors of office space, introducing a simpler and more rational ceiling grid, together with new lighting, updated servicing and redesigned lifts and WCs.
Team
Architect: Bogle Architects
Client: aik - Immobilien-Kapitalanlagegesellschaft
Specialist metalwork: Marzorati Ronchetti srl
Project Manager: Jones Lang LaSalle
Services: FM Focus
QS: Bigham Anderson Partnership
CDM Co-ordinator: Leslie Clark Construction Consultants
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