Scheme to replace several 1960s buildings with 50,000 sq m of office and cultural space
The City of London has approved plans by Make Architects for a 10-storey office scheme in High Holborn.
Councillors voted 18 in favour and one against planning officers鈥� recommendation to approve the 50,000 sq m development near Chancery Lane tube station, which has been designed for client High Holborn Limited.
The scheme will replace several 1960s buildings on the site and an office block built in 1913 with Grade A office space and just under 2,000 sq m of flexible cultural space.
The project team includes Gleeds on costs and as project manager, Sweco on planning, Arup on a multitude of roles including MEP, structural engineering and fire, Gillespies as landscape architect, Donald Insall Associates on heritage and GIA on daylight.
Sir Robert McAlpine is working on the team on construction logistics.
Located on the ground floor and in the basement, the cultural space is intended to become a venue called the Holborn Dome, a 300-capacity immersive auditorium with exhibition spaces for community events.
The plans were criticised by heritage groups including Historic England, which raised concerns over the loss of the 1913 block, known as 44 Southampton 微密圈s, and the scheme鈥檚 impact on the surrounding Chancery Lane conservation area.
Historic England called for the decision on the application to be deferred 鈥渢o enable amendments to be made that would address the impacts on the historic environment鈥�.
But planning officers concluded in a 349-page report on the scheme that these harms had been 鈥渃learly and convincingly justified鈥� by the applicant, and 鈥渃onsiderably mitigated through good design鈥�.
Officers added that the proposals would be 鈥渢ruly contextual鈥� in terms of architecture, describing the scheme as a 鈥渢houghtful and meticulous consideration of its richly historic context to which, in the pleasing variety of all of its elevations, it would offer a series of intelligent and beautifully resolved responses鈥�.
鈥淎bove all, it would have a generosity of detailing, materiality and uses that would utterly transform the present standing of this application site in the streetscape,鈥� officers said.
鈥淭he proposed building would result in a significant aesthetic enhancement to the High Holborn locality and its sophisticated and well-integrated design would raise the standard of design in the area鈥�.
The plans feature a dome on the building which has been inspired by a former Knights Templar church which once stood on the site.
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