Historic England\u2019s 1995 listing<\/a>, which described the block as \u2018elegant, precise and measured, reflecting Moro\u2019s strong sense of geometry\u2019.<\/p>\nThe consented plans include a redesigned entrance, communal boardroom and lounge facilities, end-of-trip amenities and a landscaped roof terrace. Interior spaces have been designed to reference Moro\u2019s original architectural approach through the use of natural materials and refined detailing.<\/p>\n
Barr Gazetas said it worked closely with Westminster City Council, Historic England and The Twentieth Century Society during the pre-planning process to develop a solution that improves thermal performance while preserving the fa\u00e7ade\u2019s distinctive proportions, lightweight appearance and Modernist detailing.<\/p>\n
The scheme adopts a retrofit-first approach, retaining and restoring the landmark building while improving its environmental performance. The project targets an EPC B rating, with a pathway to EPC A, alongside BREEAM Outstanding and net zero carbon principles.<\/p>\n
Moro is described by Historic England as being \u2018the forgotten co-designer of the Royal Festival Hall\u2019. His other projects include Nottingham Playhouse and Theatre Royal Plymouth. He emigrated to Britain in 1936 to avoid Nazi persecution and set up his own practice designing theatres.<\/p>\n
Barr Gazetas director Tom Lacey described the project as \u2018a rare example of listed post-war architecture\u2019, adding: \u2018Our ambition has been to restore Peter Moro\u2019s original vision while creating a building fit for the future. Retaining the elegance of the original metal-and-glass fa\u00e7ade while enhancing its environmental performance has been a key challenge, and we\u2019re excited to see this sensitive transformation move forward.\u2019<\/p>\n
Korol founding director Alex Jordan said the practice had approached the building \u2018in a similar way to a 1960s classic car\u2019, retaining its architectural character while upgrading its performance to meet the expectations of contemporary luxury retail and office occupiers.<\/p>\n
Construction is expected to begin in August, with completion scheduled for September 2027.<\/p>\n
Project data<\/p>\n
Location Mayfair
Local authority Westminster
Type of project Mixed Use
Client Korol
Architect Barr\u00a0Gazetas
Planning consultant Montagu Evans
Structural engineer Eckersley O\u2019Callaghan
M&E consultant Flatt Consulting
Quantity surveyor CHP
Principal designer Vista
Lighting consultant Flatt Consulting (up to Stage 3), Moyne (current sub-contractor to GPF in Stage 4)
Main contractor N\/A
Funding N\/A
Tender date Nov 202
Start on site date N\/A
Completion date\u00a0 July 2027
Contract duration N\/A
Gross internal floor area m\u00b2 960m\u00b2
Form of contract and\/or procurement\u00a0 JCT Design and Build
Annual CO2 emissions According to Pre-App WLC the new curtain walling will provide an annual reduction of 3.9 tonnes of CO2 per annum which is equivalent to 234 tonnes over 60 years compared to 664 tonnes if we were to retain the existing curtain walling. This is a saving of 430 tonnes which offsets the carbon cost of the new facade (161 tonnes).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The AJ00 practice secured consent from Westminster City Council on 17 July via delegated powers for the retrofit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":713489,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[6225,6485,6486,236303,1120,96,90115,21348,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-713488","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arts-and-design","tag-arts","tag-arts-and-design","tag-artsanddesign","tag-barr-gazetas","tag-design","tag-entertainment","tag-mayfair","tag-modernism","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713488","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=713488"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/713488\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/713489"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=713488"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=713488"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=713488"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}