Plans have been revealed this morning for a series of loaf-shaped skyscrapers to accompany the Cheesegrater, Can of Ham, Toast Rack and Gherkin buildings in central London.
Property developer British Land has released proposals for a 240-metre tower featuring a photovoltaic crust, nicknamed “The Slice of Bread”, while bread company Warburtons has revealed a pair of twin towers, known as “The Loaf”, to sandwich Norman Foster’s Gherkin.
The plans are likely to fuel reports that London’s skyline is beginning to resemble “the Ploughman’s Lunch”.
This image: The Loaf for Warbutons. Main image: Slice of Bread for British Land
British Land’s proposal previously went stale when it was halted in 2012, but chief executive Chris Grigg says things are back on track. “Obviously we are still in the proofing stage, but we think this would be an excellent site for the building, sandwiched between our own Cheesegrater and the Gherkin and in very close proximity to the proposed Toast Rack at 40 Leadenhall Street.”
“London real estate is on a roll and we’re pleased to be looking at an even bigger slice of the action when it comes to premium buildings in London,” he said.
Architectural consultants M. Brioche & Rye added: “This is just what London has been kneading – a beautiful building rising up as a glowing tribute to the City. The design is aspirational, yet recognising its location between the Gherkin and Cheesegrater, carefully develops the interplay between the vegetable and functional.”
Pour leur projet Street Eraser, les artistes Tayfun Sarier et Guus ter Beek (travaillant tous les deux dans l’agence Wieden+Kennedy) ont créé des autocollants géants qui imitent l’outil d’effacement de Photoshop et servent à effacer les rues, les publicités, les graffitis et les affiches des rues de Londres.
Garments are suspended in front of draped fabric above a steel parquet floor in the new womenswear floor that design studio JamesPlumb has created for east London fashion boutique Hostem (+ slideshow).
James Russell and Hannah Plumb of London-based JamesPlumb were influenced by the grainy textural appearance of old photographic plates, which they interpreted in the Hostem store’s palette of textured industrial materials.
“There is a strong emphasis on an honesty and truth to materials, which are predominantly used in their natural state, with subtle embellishments,” explained the designers.
A steel parquet floor used throughout the space comprises over 4500 individual tiles that were laid by hand in a herringbone pattern.
“The natural beauty of the steel, with its colour variations and imperfections, is accentuated by the herringbone pattern that highlights the uniqueness of each tile,” the designers added.
Free-standing steel display units create robust yet transparent vitrines and are inlaid with natural felt to add a textural dimension.
Steel is also used for a runner on the staircase that ascends to the second floor space and mezzanine level above.
Fabric panels suspended from the five-metre-high ceiling act as a backdrop for individual garments, which are displayed on custom-made clothes hangers.
Concrete shelves are supported by round steel pegs, while heavy concrete planks lean against the walls providing a counterbalance for the clothes rails that project from their surfaces.
The concrete was cast in timber moulds so it takes on the unique knots and grain of the wood.
Floor lamps shrouded with crumbled lead sheets focus the light and evoke the appearance of the aluminium cinquefoil that is used to mask photographers’ lights.
The designers sent us the following press release:
Hostem Womenswear
The collaboration that has seen JamesPlumb produce award winning designs for Hostem menswear, and bespoke service ‘The Chalk Room’ has continued and expanded. A brand new upper floor welcomes the arrival of a dedicated womenswear level – and a new environment to host it.
Connected, whilst fundamentally distinct from the store below, the new interior has an evolution that matches the store’s development. It has been led by a sense of privacy and remoteness from street level that required a feeling of calm and elevation to match. The space is informed and inspired by the warm monochromatic graininess and ‘noise’ found in old photographic plates. There is a strong emphasis on an honesty and truth to materials, which are predominantly used in their natural state, with subtle embellishments. Every element has been custom designed, and the majority made in house, by hand, in JamesPlumb’s studio.
The artistic duo have again demonstrated their ability to innovate materials with a lightness of touch that is timeless, whilst being full of surprising details. A unique steel parquet floor has been designed and developed, with over 4500 individual tiles laid by hand. The natural beauty of the steel, with its colour variations and imperfections are accentuated by the herringbone pattern that highlights the uniqueness of each tile. The white plastered walls have simply been sealed and polished with wax, and both surfaces offer a balance of unfinished rawness with a jewel like reflective surface.
Tranquility and simplicity pervades, but with depth and richness derived from texture and detail. A warmth has skillfully been created despite the connotations of materials commonly associated with an industrial look. Steel displays are inlaid with natural felt. Concrete shelves and planks support refined clothes rails. They have been cast in individual wooden moulds carefully chosen for their imperfections – the unique knots and deep wood grain of each are the antithesis of a manufactured finish. There is a playful contrast between these simple forms that reference basic building techniques and the precision steel works of the floor. The ungainly heaviness of concrete is avoided by both cheating gravity and embracing it. The shelves float on steel pegs in the wall, whilst the planks press themselves against the walls – effortlessly counterbalancing their rails full of product.
The stairs have a simple yet beautiful steel runner to guide you to the second floor and the mezzanine of the double height space. Fabric panels drape dramatically five metres from ceiling to floor, each framing an individual piece as if being captured for posterity in front of an infinity wall. There is an unusual and indulgent amount of space afforded to one garment. It is as if the items have fast tracked to a museum – a feeling of archival preciousness – and yet they are accessible and very much to be touched, explored, and worn. The lighting too, references the photographer’s studio. Custom designed lights inspired by cine-foil are in fact beautifully patinated lead sheets – crumpled, shaped and formed to direct the light.
This veneration to the clothing and attention to detail extends to the clothes hangers themselves that are entirely bespoke, each having been hand-formed from four pieces of steel. They are a line drawing made physical – the essence of a clothes hanger. The result – as with the store itself – is a beautiful tension between simple elegance, and raw materiality.
Jagged shelving units and scored surfaces were designed to evoke the look of food crates and packaging at this London butcher and delicatessen by local office Fraher Architects (+ slideshow).
The client asked Fraher Architects to design an interior for The Quality Chop Shop in London’s Farringdon that promotes the quality ingredients used in its neighbouring restaurant.
The architects chose utilitarian materials and raw finishes to reference the packing materials used to transport food to the shops and eateries that surround London’s historic Smithfields and Exmouth markets.
“The most unusual aspect of the response to the brief was to focus on the packaging aspect of produce used within the restaurant and the cooking profession as a whole,” architect Lizzie Webster told Dezeen.
“To continue this wrapped packaging theme through the layout of the display shelves, the joinery and lighting itself was a challenge,” she added.
Food is displayed on shelves and counters made from plywood, which were stained black in reference to the charred or sprayed labels commonly found on wooden packing crates.
The edges of the shelves expose the raw plywood to create a contrast with the blackened surfaces and give the impression of packaging that has been sliced open.
Each of the wall-mounted shelves has a jagged profile, creating an effect that appears to thrust the product forward, and items are framed against a dark background by the edges of the shelves.
Exposed light bulbs suspended from simple black cords were chosen to reinforce the rough-and-ready aesthetic.
Black cord also creates a criss-crossing pattern in front of the windows that recurs in an inverted form around the edge of the central display and sales point.
Original black and white tiles behind the butcher’s counter were retained and continue the basic palette used throughout the space.
Here’s a project description from Fraher Architects:
Quality Chop Shop, Farringdon
We have just finished working on the design and fabrication for the Quality Chop Shop in Farringdon, London. The shop sits next door to the Quality Chop House which has a reputation for excellent cooking and good quality ingredients. The Client approached us to consider design proposals for the refurbishment of the adjacent shop unit that had recently become available.
The food had to be displayed in a clear and simple manner, but pay reference to the utilitarian aesthetic of the food units surrounding Smithfields meat market and Exmouth Market.
The fit out elements such as the counter, produce display and lighting deserved to portray a textured and slightly rough finish, hence the display of end grain to all the plywood joinery.
The deep black stain contrasts sharply with the timber core of the units, reflecting the blackened character of timber food crates. The blackened stain plywood is reinforced by the use of cable lighting that represents the packaging and the wrapping of the food produced. The use of exposed bulbs reflects the raw nature of the food preparation that relies on exceptional raw ingredients.
Access to the working kitchen of the Quality Chop House restaurant was important to ensure that the fresh food and cake trays are constantly re-stocked with baked good throughout the day.
Chris Dyson Architects has added a soot-washed brick extension with a curved wall to a Georgian terraced house and former nunnery in east London (+ slideshow).
London-based Chris Dyson Architects was asked to replace an old two-storey extension, creating a new family living space that would be more in-keeping with the traditional nineteenth-century style of the property located at Wapping Pierhead.
“The curved end of the extension was inspired by the banks of the Thames elevation that rises on either side of the property and has curved bay windows overlooking the river,” Chris Dyson told Dezeen.
“It was an interesting local vernacular that we wanted to include and the curved extension bookends the environment well,” he said.
The architects worked with London bricklaying company Beckwith Tuckpointing to ensure the brickwork remained authentic. Locally sourced Coleridge yellow bricks were stained using an eighteenth-century soot-wash technique and an old penny was rolled between the brick joints, leaving an indent in the mortar.
“The use of brick helped to achieve a balance between the contemporary and the original period style of the house,” said Dyson.
Slate copings protect the gauged brick arches and bronze casements that have been added to the windows, helping to distinguish between the old and new.
An original listed dock wall offers privacy for a sheltered garden, while the curved wall at the back of the extension completes the terrace.
The garden offers another route into the basement and ground floor level of the extension, where a minimal dining room, library and kitchen offer living space for the family.
Built by British architect Daniel Asher Alexander in 1810, the Grade II listed building formerly housed a dock authority officer, before being repurposed as a nunnery in the 1940s.
Many of the period features have been restored, including the original staircase, architraves, floorboards and fireplace surrounds.
“The original property was very run down and hadn’t had much spent on it. This meant much of the house was preserved and we were able to bring back many of the period features,” Dyson explained.
Upstairs, the master bedroom and bathroom continue with the Georgian style, with pastel green panels concealing extra storage space and a large antique-style bathtub.
A rainwater-harvesting system and improved insulation have also been added to make the property more environmentally friendly.
Chris Dyson Architects recently won the AJ Small Projects Award for its extension of Wapping Pierhead. The award celebrates architectural projects built with a budget of less than £250,000.
Selfridges has collaborated with mobile phone company HTC to create a temporary 1,700 square metre skatepark replete with ramps, rails, benches and banks, in the middle of London’s West End.
The HTC One Skatepark, located in the former Selfridges‘ Hotel behind the flagship store on Oxford Street, reimagines what the shop would like if it was a skatepark.
The design by creative agency Prime and Fire includes ramps that have been finished in Selfridges yellow and mimic the store’s iconic carrier bags. A lipstick and pair of sunglasses have also been reimagined as skateable objects.
Inspired by landmarks in the British capital, the project incorporates urban references including yellow road markings and exposed concrete beams.
The designers were also inspired by more specific pieces of street furniture found around the capital including a handrail in Moorgate, a wavy bench near the Thames Barrier that has been appropriated by skateboarders and a marble bank in Euston.
Nestled amongst the various London-themed skating obstacles is HTC’s first-ever concept store, which was opened in conjunction with the release of the Taiwanese technology company’s One M8 smartphone this week.
A cafe has also been installed inside the space, alongside training facilities for first-time skateboarders.
Across the road, Selfridges has created a dedicated skateboard shop called The Board Room. The retail chain commissioned designers such as Erdem, Kenzo and Christian Louboutin to create limited-edition skateboards, which are available to buy.
There are also one-off designs including a Maison Martin Margiela board which incorporates high-heeled hoof-shaped shoes and a board by Rick Owens that has been made from petrified wood. Roberto Cavalli has also created a leopard-print surfboard as part of the collection.
The temporary facility is open to the public until April 19.
London studio dRMM has completed a house and studio for Hackney artist Richard Woods, using his trademark cartoon-style print to add colour to the building’s facade and staircase (+ slideshow).
Richard Woods is best known for the painted woodgrain graphics he applies to furniture and textiles, so dRMM used the pattern to inject the character of the artist into the architectural design.
Panels in shades of white, yellow and green run horizontally along patches of the front and rear facades. They reappear inside the house as treads for the main staircase, which features a rainbow of colours ranging from pale pink and white to bold reds, blues and greens.
Entitled WoodBlock House, the project is described by the designers as “a chance for experimentation that resulted in domestic joy and Spartan pleasure in every aspect of the finished product”.
Functions inside the three-storey building are divided up by storey. A large-scale printing workshop occupies the entire ground floor, while the level above accommodates living spaces and the second storey contains four bedrooms for Woods’ family.
Externally, only the bedroom storey is clad with the colourful plywood. The rest of the exterior is clad with unpainted larch boards that are arranged vertically to contrast.
Timber also lines the walls, floors and ceilings of the two domestic floors. “WoodBlock House also has the unique atmosphere of a house built only in timber and glass, with a sensual quality that has to be seen, touched and smelt to be fully understood,” said dRMM in a statement.
The studio opens out to a yard at the back, ensuring easy access and constant ventilation, while the dining room leads to a balcony terrace where residents can dine al fresco.
The staircase also ascends to another terrace on the roof, which is accessed via a small library.
dRMM used a cross-laminated timber structural system to build the house. Only two types of windows were used, which include full-height sliding windows for the living rooms and smaller “punched hole” windows for bedrooms and corridors.
The interior is completed by a wood-burning stove, leather seating and a few select pieces of furniture by the artist.
This isn’t the first time dRMM has collaborated with Richard Woods. The pair previously worked together to create a gallery space for Modern Art Oxford.
Photography is by Alex de Rijke.
Here’s a project description from dRMM:
WoodBlock House, Hackney, London
WoodBlock House demonstrates a genuine collaboration between architect and client, a chance for experimentation that resulted in domestic joy and Spartan pleasure in every aspect of the finished product.
The brief was to create a studio, home and office for UK artist Richards Woods and his family. Woods’ working process requires a large-scale printing workshop where work can be manufactured with adequate space for him and his studio employees. The building had to be designed with the inclusion of an open yard at ground level, to ensure ventilation and ease of access – both essential to Woods’ work process. From the start designs evolved from extensive conversations with the client, whose own work traverses the boundaries between art, architecture and furniture design in the interplay between the functional and the ornamental.
The result was a simple, large workshop and printing studio space on the ground floor, with separate living accommodation above, all characterised by the qualities of timber, good spaces and daylight. The design principles of the scheme can be grouped as follows:
Articulated Massing
The massing and CLT panel structural system is expressed through the articulation of the facade in relief and choice of cladding. The building consists of three elements, the ground and first floor housing workshop and main living area, the second floor box of bedrooms with small rooftop library on the third floor. The building is positioned slightly away from its neighbours flank wall to include the careful brickwork in its composition.
The home section of the building is south-facing and sits on top of the north-facing studio. The former is horizontally clad painted plywood using a printing technique for which the artist-client is internationally renown; by contrast the studio is clad in unpainted larch.
Fenestration Principles
A simple, generous fenestration specification has been used throughout. Generally there are two types of window – full height, sliding windows to principal living areas, and smaller ‘punched hole’ windows to secondary living spaces such as bedrooms and circulation. All are laminated timber.
The building is a response to the family’s needs, as well as dRMM’s own commitment to sustainability in architecture through the use of engineered timber. Panelised construction was far quicker than an equivalent brick or concrete construction, and since noise, pollution and site traffic are lessened, relations with the neighbours were good throughout.
Apart from being environmentally sound, WoodBlock House also has the unique atmosphere of a house built only in timber and glass, with a sensual quality that has to be seen, touched and smelt to be fully understood. But perhaps its greatest success lies in something even more intangible: the feeling of a building that is in constant use, brought to life through the noisy combination of family, work and play.
Before Grumpy Cat became an internet sensation and a meme standard, Garfield (created by American cartoonist Jim Davis) starred in feature films, garnered multiple Emmys, broke a Guinness World Record for most widely syndicated comic strip…
Duggan Morris Architects was tasked with adding three storeys of office space to the four-storey Georgian property in London’s Shoreditch. As the building sits within a conservation area, the architects were required to preserve the existing residential facade above the ground floor shopfront.
“The challenge was to retain the domestic scale windows within a commercial office use, as well as to consider the proportional impact and aesthetic quality of the multi-storey addition,” said studio founders Joe Morris and Mary Duggan.
Behind the brick facade, the building has been completely remodelled to generate an interior suited to modern commercial uses. The basement and ground floor are dedicated to retail, but the rest of the floors all provide flexible office spaces that decrease in area towards the top.
The Curtain Road facade features a grid that divides the surface of the extension to correspond with the three bays of the original frontage. Local rights of light required some open sections at the rear to become roof terraces.
A recessed section at the top two storeys reveals a portion of the adjacent building’s flank, helping to anchor the extension into its surroundings and creating a small terrace.
The new facade was designed as a simple arrangement of horizontal and vertical units, rendered in visually lightweight modern materials to create a contrast with the existing brickwork.
“To retain the gravitas and independence of the urban block, the additional storeys are designed with an ambition to achieve a lightweight object quality, restrained from any references to the adjacent heavy masonry structure,” the architects explained.
A combination of bonded glazed units and panels covered in a wavy metal mesh were installed to create a flush surface with minimal jointing and surface detailing.
The metal panels are perforated with a pattern of holes that allows air to flow through and doesn’t obstruct views from inside.
Felt curtains that can be drawn across the large windows create a similar visual rhythm to the undulating surfaces of the mesh panels.
Preserving the facade during construction
Concrete lintels and cills are painted in a matte finish, as are the window frames. The anodised metal panels have a champagne finish to ensure consistency between the masonry and the new architectural features.
Preserving the facade during construction
Towards the end of the construction process, a neon lighting installation by artist Tim Etchells was installed in one of the windows, displaying the message “Shouting your demands from the rooftop should be considered a last resort”.
This is a speculative office development generating 20,000sqft (GEA) of retail and work space located at 141-145 Curtain Road, Shoreditch, East London. The project is located within a conservation area defined by Georgian brick buildings and requiring retention of the existing urban block.
The building prior to development was four storeys (G, B+2) in height and is fully remodelled behind a retained brick façade. Above this, three new floors of contemporary office space are added, extending the building to 7 storeys in total, almost doubling the usable area. Planning permission was obtained in September 2011. Construction commenced in November 2012 and completed in October 2013.
Model photograph
The scheme
To generate the required area of 20,000sqft, a further three storeys were necessary within the permissible building footprint which is defined by the alignment of the front facade at street level and the rights of light (RoL) envelope at the rear. There are 7 floors in total (B, G 1-5) diminishing is size as you ascend. Logic and efficiency dictate the plan arrangement. A compact circulation core contains toilets, showers, lift and stair, and is orientated on the tallest side of the building. The offices are maximised with external terraces also carved out of the RoL envelope.
The ground and basement are intended for retail use. As such two entrances at ground level occupy either end of the facade – 141 leading to the upper office levels and 145 directly into the retail unit. Ultimately the building is flexible and can accommodate a single or multi tenant let. To retain the gravitas and independence of the urban block, the additional storeys are designed with an ambition to achieve a lightweight object quality restrained from any references to the adjacent heavy masonry structure. Scale references to the adjacent buildings window punctuation are stripped back by reducing the extension to optimum modules horizontally and vertically. The materials are reduced to mesh and glass with minimal panels and visible jointing. The lack of reveals to windows are intended to further communicate the delicate object form by disguising the depth or make-up of the construction.
This object quality is further reinforced by the deep recess to the upper 2 storeys. By revealing a portion of the existing brick flank to the adjacent building block (139 Curtain Road) the weight of the existing fabric is further communicated. This obviously reduces nett lettable area but is counterbalanced by a maximised envelope to the rear. Also the precise fit of the building between party walls without visible overdressing of flashings is intended to allow the extension to read as an independent form intended to appear simply resting ‘upon’ the facade below and ‘between’ the adjacent warehouses. A 50mm gap is detailed between the existing masonry and the extension and projecting copings are omitted in lieu of self-draining window sections.
A grid is imposed on the front facade to respond subtlety to the 3 bay house facade below. The plot is trapezoidal in plan and as such a diagonal grid sets up positions of facades and balustrades to the rear. The grid is further enforced at the rear, with smaller staggered terraces, articulating the building where the mass responds to a RoL envelope. Thus a proportional logic of panel size – mesh and glass – is utilised across the facades with the positions of balustrades also defined by the RoL envelope.
The visible facade is made up of mesh and large bonded units. The principle behind the entire facade construction is to use a simple curtain walling system where possible, with bespoke inserts to achieve the non standard details. The bonded glazed units are tied back to the main super structure. The mesh is bracketed off the curtain walling to meet the same plain as the bonded units and to achieve the flush outer layer. This principle continues around the entire facade front and rear. In order to maintain a reading of the building as a whole the colour palette is carefully calibrated to respond to the masonry tones from grey concrete mortar to mid brown bricks. The reflectance of the materials increases as you ascend to sky and the textural quality of each material selected is emphasised by various means.
A champagne coloured anodised metal panel is used for the mesh on the upper storeys. This is perforated with small holes achieving 40% free air flow and is also calculated to appear almost invisible from the inside to retain views across London. A waved profile adds another layer of light quality maximising incident sun throughout the day. The anodised surface is iridescent in sunlight.
The transition from the mesh to the glazed bonded panel is carefully managed by introducing a matching fritt within the double glazed bonded unit. This softens the overall appearance of the glass which would normally be a contrasting frame and fritt colour. Felt curtains have been introduced to the larger windows fronting onto the street to extend the waved mesh detail across the entire facade. The brick has been lightly cleaned and repointed where spalling with the intention to retain the relic with minimal surface alteration. All concrete lintels and cills and window frames are painted a matt colour to match the brickwork attempting to simplify the reading of the retained element.
At ground level the shop front is framed in concrete supporting the building mass above. The glass panels within being as large as is permissible with the constraints of the tight street and working zone. Again a fritt has been selected to match the concrete colour to soften the junctions. The colour treatment stops at the facade. As a rule the entire office units are white including light fittings and all exposed services.
The building has been a challenge in many respects mainly imposed by the condition to retain the existing facade. To an extent the process to retain it required extensive counter intuitive construction works. The delicate quality of what is deemed to be ‘permanent’ and of historical value has been exposed through the very process of having to retain it. An installation by Richard Wilson at Liverpool Biennial 2007 entitled ‘Turning the place over’ played on this very condition. A permanent gritty piece of city fabric is explored as an adaptable component. An abstract portion of the facade was mechanically rotated exposing the inside.
Similarly, this revelation of the building fabric became an interesting part of the construction journey that was to be capitalised upon particularly given the visibility of the works from the street and the opportunity to promote the building as a theatrical contribution to Shoreditch, perhaps calling out to a particular tenant typology or exposing a opportunity to use the building in an unconventional way. The construction works required an oversized steel temporary structure to protect the facade from falling which needed to be pinned back to the superstructure. The entire shopfront below was removed leaving the brick facade suspended to allow alterations to take place behind it. Due to the close proximity to the street and the restrictions imposed by the Olympics 2012, temporary scaffolds and coverings were kept to a minimum thus the entire build process was evident throughout the construction phase. Due to the size of the bonded panels a complete weekend closure of Curtain Road to permit safe cranage positioning and installation was necessary.
An installation by Tim Etchells was exhibited to expand upon the theatrics. The piece was installed for 6 weeks from September to October 2013. The neon piece entitled ‘shouting your demands from the rooftops should be considered a last resort’ was selected for its obvious irony in the context of imminent marketing of the building, but also to demonstrate the opportunity to use the high level glazed pods for exhibition. The neon had the obvious benefit of retaining visibility during the dark early evenings.
Pour faire la promotion de Pepsi Max, l’agence AMV a décidé de piéger des londoniens qui attendent leur bus. Sur l’avenue New Oxford Street, une caméra a été placée dans un arrêt de bus pour filmer l’autre côté de la rue en temps réel. Un rendu possible grâce à l’utilisation de la réalité augmentée.
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