Programme:
- Design development: 12 weeks
- On site: 12 weeks
Brief:
Dthree Studio were appointed by Brunswick Real Estate to redevelop and reposition two buildings on the much sought-after Lonsdale Road. Both buildings boasted exquisite existing features and distinctive textures. These were also the basis of the design intent, alongside maximising the lettable area and creating a more efficient office space than previously inhabited.
The project at 2 Lonsdale Road consisted of stripping out and redeveloping the first and second floors. It also, included re-supporting the second floor with new architectural steels to turn it into lettable space and works to the existing foundation to ensure that the building was structurally sound.
Similarly, 4 Lonsdale Road had large structural works as it was previously home to a famous music studio. Both sides of the first floor were not levelled which meant that the space had unusable head heights and posed health and safety concerns.
Implementation:
At 2 Lonsdale Road, an array of six new skylights were installed into the roof of the second floor, transforming it into a new and bright space, with unique timber detailing. A new lighting and mechanical system was installed, with bespoke industrial style AC unit casings to stay in keeping with the architectural elements. The finishing palette ensured the industrial aesthetic was complemented and accentuated with detailed flooring, bold and quirky WC design, and exposing of the previously painted brick.
At 4 Lonsdale Road, we dropped the right-hand side of the first floor to its original level and reinstated the blocked-up ground floor window to improve natural light. We also created an additional opening in the existing brickwork partitioning on the first floor.
Both the ground and first floor had increased WC capacity installed, in more efficient positioning than previous, boasting the same mechanical and electrical details as 2 Lonsdale Road. The previously disregarded yard at the rear was overhauled and transformed into a usable space for the future tenants, whist also providing space for new condensers which allowed us to remove existing dated units from the front façade. Similar to 2 Lonsdale Road, the finishing palette was carefully selected to play off and enhance the existing features within the space, such as the red supportive beams.
Result / Final Outcome:
The outcome of this project was that both spaces were let before construction had finished, attracting new interesting names to the Lonsdale Road portfolio.