Tyler Goodwin is founder and CEO of developer Seaforth Land. In an interview with Architecture Today he talked about retrofitting and extending Space House, the 1968 building by Richard Seifert and George Marsh, and about how London treats its mid-century modern architecture.
How he came to Space House
Goodwin, a Canadian who moved to London from Hong Kong to be founding CEO of Lodha UK, was first offered Space House in 2017 as a "quirky 1960's building". He saw the opportunity on his first tour, but it took six months to secure it at the right price. He was surprised by how little the real estate community recognised its importance, compared with the way mid-century buildings are valued in North America.
Three challenges in the retrofit
The first was cooling. The team developed a bespoke chilled beam system that fits up into the radial pre-cast concrete coffered ceilings, leaving the repeating pattern of exposed concrete visible across each floor.
The second was a very high sustainability rating, which experts said could not be reached in a freestanding listed office building with a structural concrete facade, no insulation and risks of thermal bridging. The third, Goodwin says, was managing the fear of failure when setting goals with no precedent. He credits Patrick Bellew at Atelier Ten, Tim Gledstone at Squire and Partners, Chris Gearey at G&T and Dennis Lopez at QuadReal.
A stair brought back
At a public consultation, a member of the public brought original black and white photos of Space House. One showed a terrazzo floating stair at the north end, matching the preserved south stairwell. With that evidence the team went back to Camden and Historic England, and the stair was reinstated. The ground floor reception now combines terrazzo flooring, Sapele-clad walls and the recreated stair.
Goodwin describes working with Camden, Historic England and the 20th Century Society as a pleasure. He chose Squire and Partners after seeing their headquarters in Brixton, and Amin Taha for 8 Bleeding Heart Yard after the two met late at night on Clerkenwell Green.
On policy
He argues that refurbishing listed buildings costs more than new build and that business rates on occupied listed buildings should be cut, to attract capital to them.
Project credits
- Client: Tyler Goodwin, founder and CEO, Seaforth Land
- Building: Space House (1968), by Richard Seifert and George Marsh
- Retrofit architect: Squire and Partners (Tim Gledstone)
- Source: Architecture Today