Rivington Street

Metropolitan Workshop was short-listed to take part in an invited design competition for the development of a complex site on Rivington Street for office use. The site is ‘L’ shaped, bounded closely by Rivington Street, the overground railway line and neighbouring buildings. It also had an established rights of light issue to historic buildings to the south and contained an unusual part timber-framed warehouse at the front of the site. We proposed to retain the former warehouse, introducing tall slot dormer windows and to re-clad it in ceramics to transform its appearance and profile on such a busy street. A new efficient office building was proposed as a backdrop to form a new courtyard, with temporary drop-in accommodation in a courtyard to maximise the space through construction. We also proposed a detailed phasing concept which differed with the competition brief, but which provided more lettable space earlier in the site’s development and provided a greater return in the long term.

Collaborators: Charlie Green