British Columbia House, London

This prestigious building is located in Regent Street St James on a prominent corner at the junction with Charles II Street. The building was commissioned in 1914 by the State of British Columbia for their own use. From 1918 it was used to carry out official business and to exhibit the products of the colony. The building is Grade II Listed and lies within the St James Conservation Area. The main facades are high quality, well-articulated compositions faced in Portland stone with attractive relief carvings at fourth floor level and above the grand entrance portico.

Date

2015

Client

The Crown Estate

Value

Confidential

All aspects of the works required very careful consideration in order to preserve the historical and architectural importance of the Listed Building and enable its upgrading and modernisation. Sustainability was a major driver in all decisions relating to the fabric and the building services, which also had to meet the commercial requirements of a speculative development and the heritage requirements of Westminster planning department.

Since its initial construction only minor alterations and fitting out works had been carried out leading to both the office accommodation on the upper floors and the retail accommodation on the ground and lower ground becoming outdated and energy inefficient. The Crown Estate commissioned a comprehensive feasibility study looking at a variety of uses for the building which has led to the extension, remodelling and complete refurbishment of the whole building.

The completed building now comprises 2,673 sq m of Grade A office accommodation on first to sixth floors and 837 sq m of restaurant space on lower ground, ground and mezzanine level. The project was a finalist in the 2015 BREEAM Awards.

Project gallery

Below are a selection of images from this project along with a description. Tap an image and it will appear fullscreen with a close button. There will also be the option to view the next image in the gallery.