Ten minutes’ walk from the iconic Tower Bridge and Tower of London, an abandoned warehouse lay derelict in Bermondsey’s Conservation Area. Visionary developer Acorn Homes saw potential for adaptive re-use and partnered with the forward thinking contractor Rooff to reinvent the inner city site as an innovative live work community.

 

The handsome brickwork front façade was lovingly restored and planning consent secured for two additional levels of apartments with rooftop views to the City. Workspaces are grouped on the lower floors with a pair of offices accessed from the street and spacious live work units above. Conceived before the rise of remote working, the scheme was ahead of the curve in blending residential accommodation with workspace. Even the apartments are flexibly planned to incorporate home offices which was unusual at the time.

 

A new façade facing the service road to the rear is composed of robust engineering brickwork with sustainably sourced western red cedar cladding above and a staircase glazed in vibrant midnight blue. Juliet balconies adjoining living spaces are formed in aluminium framed sandblasted glass.

 

The penthouse apartments are setback from the muscular brickwork elevation below creating private west facing terraces between. Deliberately muted and subservient to its precursor, the new recessed façade is fabricated in lightweight aluminium framed fixed and sliding glass panels, clearly delineating the contemporary addition and the historic adapted structure.