The Kensington Building

A former 1970s department store on Kensington High Street is reimagined as a contemporary workspace that enhances the architecture, interiors and public realm. The mixed-use retrofit project also improves connectivity to Kensington High Street Underground Station through the recreation of a lost retail arcade. After stripping the building to its concrete frame and extending the structure to meet the street line on Wrights Lane, we designed new elevations in white Roman brick and pale Moleanos stone, in keeping with the area’s heritage buildings such as Derry & Toms and Barkers department stores. A remodelled five-storey frontage faces onto the high street, while a side elevation stepped back at the upper levels incorporates richly landscaped garden terraces providing a buffer between adjacent buildings. At ground floor we worked to consolidate multiple entrances and cores into a single, central lobby, with inbuilt flexibility, delivering open, naturally lit workspaces. Renewed retail frontages and the galleria further activate the building at street level. Internally, the building comprises a carefully curated material palette of exposed concrete, artisanal bricks, warm timber, and patinated copper. The retrofit combines a thermally efficient envelope with environmental systems that marry operational energy efficiency with high wellbeing standards. Openable panels within the façade allow natural ventilation, and the building integrates sophisticated sensors and controls, air source heat-pumps and photovoltaics. The project has achieved both BREEAM Excellent and WELL Gold certification and received the 2023 BCO award for Best Refurbished/Recycled Workplace.