Pursuing exemplary and innovative architecture

The owners of One Chapel Place seek to deliver a piece of exceptional architecture which will stand the test of time under their long term tenure. The design of One Chapel Place is contemporary whilst respectful of it’s heritage context and will be exemplary in terms of its quality, materiality and craftmanship. We have drawn inspiration from typologies common in the Harley Street Conservation Area and the area surrounding One Chapel Place.

2. Colour

The colour palette for the façade has taken its cues from the immediate neighbours: House of Fraser is Portland grey, the proposed façade of Debenhams is a terracotta red and the predominant colour of the church is brownish red. It is important to choose a colour that complements the tones of St Peter’s Church, without overshadowing the building. Our proposed choice is a soft grey green colour that will sit well within the immediate locality.

1. Colonnades and Arches

Within the Conservation Area, there are a range of architectural styles and motifs. The use of arches constructed in stone is common and is often articulated with ornamentation. The arches at the lower floors are larger to allow maximum activation of the street which helps create successful, engaged places. The scale of these relate well to the height of the Church portico and the heights of the lower rusticated ground floor facades adjacent. Our double height arches take influence from other local buildings and this language has been adopted across all of our facades. To express the lightening of the structure and the façade as it rises, we have arranged the masonry so that the arches reduce in span further up the building. This allows the columns to narrow which gives the façade a Cathedral like elegance which is celebrated at the top with finer fenestration behind which sits the roof garden.

3. Façade design development

The façade design for One Chapel Place is a contemporary interpretation of the rhythm and detail of the classic façade.

A study of material precedents and modern details on buildings in the local area helped to shape the ambitions with a number of principal façade design approaches explored.

The façade is slightly set back at ground and first floor level at the corner of Vere Street to open up views onto St Peter’s Church and the refreshed public realm.

4. Materiality

We have drawn on local precedent to inform the material palette and are developing a well crafted high quality façade that will include the re-use of much of the existing Portland Stone cladding. .

5. Pursuing exemplary and innovative architecture

There are many fine examples of articulated set piece buildings within the Conservation Area context. Our proposal will draw on the precedent of the form of these buildings in its mass and articulation, and has used local examples as inspiration and to help inform the design, taking into account the historic setting.

6. Modern next to heritage assets

The historic setting of St Peter’s Church has evolved. In shaping our proposals, we have explored how successfully new buildings, of varying scales can sit adjacent to historic buildings, in particular churches in a contemporary setting. We believe the existing context of C20 and C21 buildings surrounding the C18 Church has created the opportunity for a striking contemporary development at One Chapel Place.

7. Entrance Tower

Located on Vere Street, we have designed a distinct entrance tower. This acts as an intermediary to the adjacent lower building and also acts as a marker building that will indicate to the public the entrance to the rooftop garden. The articulation will have shouldering which is common for this type of building and the language of the vertical fluting takes its inspiration from classical columns.

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Proposed redevelopment of an outdated office building to deliver modern, sustainable, exemplar workspace and re-vitalised public realm just off Oxford Street, W1

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