Working with artist Tess Jaray, Emrys Architects has completed Berners and Wells – a new mixed-used scheme in Fitzrovia for Berners-Allsopp Estate and Schroders that features a glazed-brick, patterned façade.
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Alan Williams
Emrys Architects has completed a mixed-use development project in Fitzrovia, London, in collaboration with Berners-Allsopp Estate and Schroders.
Named Berners and Wells, the project involves partial demolition and preservation of an Edwardian façade on Wells Street, ensuring harmony with the adjacent Grade II* Sanderson Hotel. Further integration with the surrounding conservation can be see with the careful attention to detail on elements such as the scheme’s raised brickwork and rebuilt chimneys, the latter of which act as bookends – unifying the whole façade and creating a visual break from neighbouring buildings to the south.
Spanning two urban blocks, the development comprises more than 7,000 square metres of office and retail space designed for future needs, along with enhancements to the public realm at ground level.
Here, seven two-story arches clad in Portland stone with a teal glazed-brick detailing serve as an ornate entrance to the flexible retail spaces on the lower floors, as well as the office above.
The entrance from Eastcastle Street to the mews has also been developed, being expanded, with the building line within the mews being adjusted to create a broader space. This strategy significantly improves the visibility of Castle Court, laying the groundwork for a dynamic landmark destination characterized by increased pedestrian activity, lively storefronts, and improved urban connectivity.
White faience columns and bronze detailing add a refined modern touch and a new glass and bronze envelope on the upper levels offers terraces for informal gathering spaces. Furthermore, a new set-back fifth floor, made from brick, makes use of gables that align to the twinned bays below.
Artist Tess Jaray was commissioned to work on the project, creating a striking pattern on the building’s curve and roundels in the entrance.
“The development of the brickwork was a somewhat intuitive response, but as always with my work, stemmed from the desire to say as much as possible with as little as possible,” said Jaray in a statement. “That initial element, be it a rectangle, circle or brick, must become subsumed in the whole, but without entirely losing its identity, and reveal, articulate and express the spaces that develop from them.”
“We are very excited to have worked on another mixed-use scheme in central London,” Glynn Emrys, director at Emrys Architects said speaking to AT. “It was a fantastic opportunity to work on a scheme in this characterful area of London, in terms of both sustainability and Public Realm. These are becoming an increasingly significant part of our portfolio, and we have relished the chance to address and invigorate the complexities of the site while creating a network of new spaces for people to meet & mix and work in a highly sustainable and comfortable way. We particularly enjoyed designing the Berners Street and Wells Mews façade incorporating public art to Wells Mews that complements the Grade II Listed St Margarets Building as well as a stone and faience façade on Berners Street that speaks to the neighbouring Grade II listed Sanderson Building.”
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Source: Architecture Today
