Inspired by the client’s long-term commitment to the site (400 years and counting), the scheme at 1-5 Benjamin Street is a modern interpretation of a Victorian brick warehouse that will stand the test of time. On an L-shaped corner plot within the Clerkenwell Conservation Area, adjacent to the new Crossrail hub at Farringdon Station, the new mixed-use development has replaced two existing buildings that were no longer fit for purpose with a five-storey city sandwich of retail space at ground floor, three levels of open-plan offices in the middle, and penthouse apartments at roof level. The building’s two principal elevations respond to two different conditions: the Benjamin Street façade symmetrically addresses St John’s Gardens, echoing the square proportions of the nearby Victorian warehouses, while the Turnmill Street façade, which looks across the train lines at Farringdon Station, has a vertical emphasis that responds to the grain of the neighbouring buildings and the public nature of the street. Both façades are brick, offset by patterned concrete panels, lintel and cill details. The site is bisected by Faulkner’s Alley, an historic urban route that has been enhanced as part of the project.

2018
Location
Farringdon, London
Client
The Girdlers' Company