18
INSIGHTS
SPPARC mixed use scheme at Borough Yards, south London Under net-zero government targets that will come into law by
2050, Savills has estimated that a staggering 83% of the UK’s current retail stock will need to be improved by that deadline to comply with environmental regulations.
A great example of this rejuvenation of an old building through a change of use includes the former Midland Bank headquarters at 27 Poultry, which now hosts The Ned, part of the Soho House group. This saw 29,450 m2 of space transformed into an eating, drinking, sleeping (and even rooftop swimming) destination in the square mile.
From now on, architects and developers must think carefully about a building and place’s current purpose and how it could adapt over time to meet the needs of future generations. This means being more resourceful, reactivating legacy assets across the built environment, but also working backwards to understand how design proposals can incorporate principles of disassembly. Borough Yards is another example of reimagining a neglected space and creating a new destination for London. Through careful design and consideration, we took disused yet historically significant warehouses, viaducts and arches next to London’s famous Borough Market, and opened up the site to create a co- locality of new offices, shopping and dining for the community. Within the constraints of a particularly dense area of the capital,
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The complexities of retrofitting or recycling existing structures is a reminder that the buildings we design today must stand the test of time
we’ve contributed to a cultural quarter which has survived centuries of change, even under the shadow of the Shard. Across town, our approach to the reimagining of Olympia – one of the last bastions of London’s Great Exhibitions – has been to incorporate design principles and optimise wide, open spaces to allow for reconfigurability as the collection of buildings age along with complementary uses. The result is a lifestyle district of culture and innovation that successfully cohabits with the heritage setting. As sculptors of urban environments, architects must play their part in limiting the carbon impact that we contribute to. This doesn’t mean that our hands are tied. It simply means we have to be more creative in our approach to buildings old and new, residential or commercial, to ensure that what we design, is designed to last.
Trevor Morriss is principal at SPPARC ADF JUNE 2022
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