One Bedford Avenue London Building, Exemplar Fitzrovia Office Building Development, Architecture Images
One Bedford Avenue in London
New Commercial Development in Fitzrovia, West End, England, UK – design by Bennetts Associates
3 Apr 2017
One Bedford Avenue
Architect: Bennetts Associates
Location: Fitzrovia, London, UK
Bennetts Associates unveils One Bedford Avenue at the south end of Tottenham Court Road
One Bedford Avenue, an office and retail development in London’s West End, has been completed by Bennetts Associates for Exemplar, in partnership with Ashby Capital and The Bedford Estates.
The new landmark address occupies a prominent corner site at the south end of Tottenham Court Road close to Bedford Square and the British Museum. The Architectural Association is immediately to its rear. The building provides 71,000 sq ft of high quality office space over seven floors and 14,000 sq ft of retail at ground and basement level.
The form of the building has been sculpted from a single rectangular block, with the angular profiles of the upper floors created in response to Rights of Light analysis. Precast concrete fins on all elevations are identical but set in different orientations depending on context and solar shading requirements. On Tottenham Court Road the fins are positioned at 90 degrees to the façade to cut out the afternoon heat; on Morwell Street they are aligned flat against the building in response to the large amount of shade which coats the building in the morning and on Bedford Avenue, the fins are stacked into a 500mm deep framework to mitigate the high southern sun.
The monochromatic interiors have been designed to pay homage to the demise of the electronics retail industry, once the defining feature of the Tottenham Court Road. The door and washroom signage borrows from electronic diagram symbols and the reception contains a full storey representation of a computer board in patinated brass and manifestations in Morse code. The balustrades to the stairs have also been designed as Morse code: by running a stick along the uprights the ‘clicks’ spell out ‘up and up’ and ‘down and down’ on opposite sides.
Artwork by Lilah Fowler covers the Bedford Avenue façade and integrates the electronics theme with the history of the freeholder; The Bedford Estates. A quote taken from the Commonplace books of Francis Russell, the fourth Earl of Bedford (1593-1641): ‘Our knowledge is nothing but the glass of our own imperfections’ has been translated into binary code with yellow and blue LED neon lights representing 0’s and 1’s. The fritting pattern on the lower portion of the windows, reminiscent of a QR code, is a representation of quantum coding of the same phrase, a modern alternative to binary.
David Walker, Associate Director at Bennetts Associates, said:
“The references to the area’s history are subtle but evocative and we have produced a commercial building that also has a strong narrative linking it to its context. It is also a great example of how art can be successfully incorporated into the detailed design of a building.”
Peter Ferrari, Chief Executive at Ashby Capital, said:
“I am thrilled with the development. It’s an absolute gem of a building and the detailing is very precise and clear. It exudes quality throughout and I think the reception area is particularly effective in its design, choice of materials, scale and geometry. The office floor plates are highly efficient and rational, the ceilings and cladding are very crisp and the lavatories are a clever balance of quality and functionality.”
Michael Bucknell, Development Director at Exemplar commented:
“This high-quality building offers a great working environment for modern businesses. With an abundance of natural light across flexible floorplates, a high quality of finish throughout and first-rate cycling facilities, luxury changing rooms and drying lockers, The Avenue offers world-class office and retail accommodation in a prime and increasingly vibrant West End location.”
One Bedford Avenue in London images / information received 030417
Location: One Bedford Avenue, Fitzrovia, London, WC1B 3AU, England, UK
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