The Harlequin Building
Location: 65 Southwark Street, London
Client: Moorevale / Rockspring
Status: Completed 2012
Size: 5,000 sq m
This project reduced a tired 1960’s office building on a busy urban street in the Bankside area of London’s Southbank back to the original frame in order to deliver this contemporary mixed use office-led project.
The scheme includes two new additional floors, complete external and internal remodelling and fully-serviced Grade A office interiors with retail units at ground floor providing active urban frontage.
Our primary objective was to develop a design which, whilst contextually sensitive and commercially aware, successfully contributed to the character improvement of this re-habilitated area south of the Thames.
The re-use of this typical post-war commercial building and its upgrading to respond to modern office requirements not only assists in the urban improvement process but, by reusing the building frame and foundations, reduces site construction time and enhances the development’s environmental credentials.
The two additional storeys, responding structurally to the existing façade, produce an extended building with an appropriate scale and height when seen in the context of a changing Southwark Street with a dynamic and vibrant architecture.
With a BREAAM Excellent rating the building was successfully let as the UK HQ for both Zoopla and Maris interiors with a leading retailer occupying the ground floor retail area.
