DON'T WASTE BUILDINGS has organised a tour of the Arding & Hobbs building where Sascha Lewin, Chief Executive of W.RE, will explain the journey to bring this landmark back into use.
Arding & Hobbs is a mixed-use restoration of a disused Grade-II listed 19th-century landmark department store in Clapham Junction, revitalising a historic streetscape and activating the street level with brand-new amenities for the public. The building has existed within its environment for over 100 years serving as a focal point for the neighbourhood, most recently as a Debenhams until the liquidation of the company in 2021. With very little investment and maintenance over many years, the building had fallen into a state of disrepair and consequently contributed negatively to the local environment.
W.RE, working with architects Stiff + Trevillion restored, expanded, and transformed the disused landmark into a characterful workspace for approximately 1,000 people. Preserved historic details such as a stained-glass dome and a barrel roof are carefully balanced with modern features such as a spectacular landscaped roof terrace with panoramic views across London. A range of retail and leisure uses accounting for around 30% of the total floorspace occupy the basement, ground, and first floors, including a gym, Italian delicatessen, and a large corner café/restaurant, alongside a pre-existing clothing retailer which continued trading throughout the entire refurbishment.
Case Study Tour: Wednesday, August 14, 2024. 10am-12pm
TO BOOK YOUR FREE TICKET, PLEASE FOLLOW THIS LINK.
DON'T WASTE BUILDINGS (DWB) is the campaign to put a spotlight on embodied carbon and make the case for the productive use of empty and underperforming buildings. These buildings, all over the UK, are untapped economic and social assets, not structures to be casually discarded. DWB is calling on the next government to tackle this by introducing regulation and financial incentives that will make the reuse of existing buildings simpler and more profitable. The campaign is non-party political and is run by a collection of individuals made up of leading architects, engineers, property developers, financiers, heritage experts, and others. The group was co-founded in late 2022 by Leanne Tritton, Chair of The London Society and Founder of ING Media, Will Hurst, Managing Editor of The Architects’ Journal, and Richard Nelson, Managing Director of Abyss and Chair of the Institute of Directors Property and Built Environment Group.
Photo credit Richard Chivers.