Merry Christmas from Haines Phillips Architects

Our card this year shows our project for the glass structure infill of the historic courtyard of The Gatehouse, a Grade I Listed property in Arlington Street, Westminster. This striking, contemporary addition will create a new entrance and meeting room for the London headquarters of an international company. 

The building is the former gatehouse to Rutland House, originally built between 1734 and 1740 for the Dowager Duchess of Norfolk by the architect James Gibbs. The Gatehouse consists of a two-storey building and attic above a basement and forms the southern boundary of an internal courtyard that used to serve as a passageway to Rutland House from Arlington Street. The eastern boundary of the courtyard consists of a high wall with a rusticated archway in the Gibbs style with large gates on to Arlington Street.

The Gatehouse's principal elevation to the courtyard remains largely intact, however, the internal courtyard has been affected by many recent alterations that have detracted from its character, including a bulky and ill-considered glazed roof dating to the 1980's.

Our client's brief was for the infilling of the courtyard with a two-storey glass structure that would provide a reception area and a conference room. Our client also favoured a striking and contemporary design, rather than a traditional and conservative design, in order to reflect the company's identity and status. The proposals include the removal of the existing glazed roof, the demolition of the modern northern boundary wall and the addition of a two-storey structural glass infill extension. The infill extension is supported by a cantilevered steel structure lightly anchored to the Gatehouse's façade with minimal fixings in the location of the demolished northern boundary wall.

The proposals were submitted for a full application for Planning Permission and Listed Building Consent in March 2021 following a pre-app consultation process. The proposals gained the support of Historic England and were recommended for approval by Westminster City Council.

Further details on the project can be viewed here.

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