Stripping out suspended ceilings exposes the steel structure and gains 20% in height, opening up constrained floor plates. We doubled the entrance foyer width by incorporating an adjacent retail bay and removed the external canopy, creating a transparent arrival that activates the street corner and engages with the Barbican high-walks. The existing triangular stair becomes a visual marker, highlighted in bold colour and strategically lit from the intersection outside.

Rather than fight the building's 1980s character of brick, precast concrete, and Aztec columns, we leaned into it. The interior material palette responds directly to the exterior: terrazzo, red travertine, timber linings in the lobby and lifts. Complete reservicing shifts the building from gas to all-electric systems using air source heat pumps housed in a new rooftop plantroom, improving the EPC rating from F/G to high B. New ductwork runs beneath existing downstand steel beams, organised alongside VRV units and services to maintain visual order in the exposed ceilings.

The project resolves a complex multi-level entry sequence, improving accessibility and creating a more inclusive arrival. Former plant rooms become secure cycle storage, and a previously dysfunctional gap adjacent to a listed bank now provides dedicated bike access.