11 Baker Street \ Squire and Partners

11 Baker Street, image courtesy Squire and Partners

11 Baker Street, image courtesy Squire and Partners

Squire and Partners has completed a mixed use development occupying an entire urban block facing Baker Street, London W1. The scheme comprises a strongly modelled concrete and glass office building addressing Baker Street, and two predominantly brick residential buildings to the rear which flank a private courtyard garden.

11 Baker Street, image courtesy Squire and Partners

The office building was constructed using a hybrid steel/concrete frame which expresses the decrease in structural loading as the building rises – traditional vertical lines of structure are lost and the structure appears as an object in its own right. An open loggia at ground floor is repeated in a section of terrace on the sixth floor, while areas of flush and recessed glazing have similar conversations across the façade. Retail units are provided on the ground and basement floors. Internally the structure allows for an 18m clear span office floorplate, offering column free spaces with spectacular full height views across London.

11 Baker Street, image courtesy Squire and Partners

11 Baker Street, image courtesy Squire and Partners

In the reception area a stunning layered glass artwork, designed in collaboration with artist Alexander Beleschenko, permeates the building line by continuing from the reception area out to the pavement. Overlaid patterns, shapes and linear configurations are designed to express dynamism and richness, and engage with building users and pedestrians passing by.

11 Baker Street, image courtesy Squire and Partners

To the rear, two residential blocks – one facing George Street and the other facing Portman Close – share a central courtyard garden with a feature vertical planted wall. Materials used for the residential buildings relate more closely to the developments’ immediate neighbours – a mixture of brick, stone and glass combine to create contemporary elevations which sit comfortably in their surroundings. A fifth floor penthouse level, set back from the main building line, is more heavily glazed to maximise views.

11 Baker Street, image courtesy Squire and Partners

The scheme employs an abstractive consumption borehole system to provide at least 10% of energy required for the operation of the building, and has achieved a BREEAM rating of ‘Excellent’.

+ Project Info

Location: 11 Baker Street, London W1
Type of Project: Office, residential, retail
Client: AUB (Baker Street) Development Limited
Architects: Squire and Partners
Project Architect: Stewart Kendall (Associate Director)
Structural Engineers: Scott Wilson and Taylor + Boyd
M&E Consultant: SKM and Caldwell Consulting
Quantity Surveyor: Rider Levett Bucknall
Planning Supervisor: Gerald Eve
Project Manager: GVA Second London Wall
Main Contractor: McAleer and Rushe
Mechanical subcontractor: AirconMech
Electrical subcontractor: VH McDevitts
Curtain wall subcontractor: Metallbau Freuh
Precast subcontractor: Evans Concrete Products
Start on site date: December 2009
Contract duration: 16 months (excluding demolition)
Form of contract: Design and Build
Gross internal floor area: 12,900 sq m total (8,200 sq m office/retail, 4,700 resi/car parking)
Total cost: approx £23m (excluding demolition)
Annual co2 emissions: 27.7 kgCO2/m2/yr (office building)

+ All images courtesy Squire and Partners