The Marylebone Conran Shop is the latest in a series of major London projects for the Conran Group involving the restoration of listed buildings – the Butlers Wharf Building , Michelin House, Bluebird Garage – each acting as a catalyst for the regeneration of its surrounding city quarter. A former stable building at the north end of Marylebone was re-built to provide accommodation for the second London Conran Shop and a new D+D London Restaurant (formerly Conran Restaurants) – the elegant Orrery.
The street elevation, with its distinctive two-storey arched bays, was retained, while the low-grade buildings behind were demolished to make way for a new wide-span structure, more suitable for the proposed retail use.
Because of the constricted site, it was decided to build using large vaulted pre-cast concrete floor units. Drawing on experience gained in C&P’s project for Longman, in Harlow , these were left exposed to act as a ‘thermal flywheel’, reducing the building’s peak-load cooling requirements. Background and display lighting are housed in a specially designed GRC ‘boom’ suspended along each of the soffit-vaults. Combined with a raised floor, used to distribute fresh air and cabling, this is a highly unusual configuration for a retail space, but one that has proved very effective in this particular context.
The top floor of the new building is a steel-framed penthouse, set back to minimise right-of-light impact on properties in the historic mews to the rear of the development. The three sales floors are connected by a spectacular glazed lift and stair with reconstituted stone treads, lit from above by a large roof-light.
The street elevation, with its distinctive two-storey arched bays, was retained, while the low-grade buildings behind were demolished to make way for a new wide-span structure, more suitable for the proposed retail use.
Because of the constricted site, it was decided to build using large vaulted pre-cast concrete floor units. Drawing on experience gained in C&P’s project for Longman, in Harlow , these were left exposed to act as a ‘thermal flywheel’, reducing the building’s peak-load cooling requirements. Background and display lighting are housed in a specially designed GRC ‘boom’ suspended along each of the soffit-vaults. Combined with a raised floor, used to distribute fresh air and cabling, this is a highly unusual configuration for a retail space, but one that has proved very effective in this particular context.
The top floor of the new building is a steel-framed penthouse, set back to minimise right-of-light impact on properties in the historic mews to the rear of the development. The three sales floors are connected by a spectacular glazed lift and stair with reconstituted stone treads, lit from above by a large roof-light.
- Civic Trust commendation 2000
