Another 1970s London office to be given major overhaul

Proposals to redevelop a 1970s office a stone’s throw from the Hatton Garden jewellery district in central London have been submitted to Camden Council.

Developer General Projects, in partnership with Valeo Capital, plans to increase floorspace at 14 Gray’s Inn Road by 77% to 165,000 sq ft.

The regeneration scheme, which has been designed by Buckley Gray Yeoman, also includes external terraces on each floor and a variety of sustainability upgrades.

General Projects worked closely with the architect and structural engineers Elliott Wood to ensure more than four-fifths of the existing structure was maintained, saving a purported 42,240 tonnes of material, equivalent to 4,462 tonnes of embodied carbon.

The building, which is situated adjacent to Chancery Lane Underground Station, will be powered entirely by fossil-free energy and will be net zero in operation, partly through the installation of 120 photovoltaic panels.

Plans for the scheme also commit to re-using, recycling or recovering 95% of all redevelopment waste.

Retrofit work accounted for more than three quarters of office space currently under construction in London, according to the latest crane survey by Deloitte, and Buckley Gray Yeoman itself recently submitted plans to overhaul a brutalist office block in the City of London.

Of its plans for 14 Gray’s Inn Road, General Projects’ chief Jacob Loftus said: “Our proposals maximise the potential of this tired 1970s building. This project demonstrates our continued commitment and passion for projects that champion reuse and regenerative materials.”