At 80 Charlotte Street in Fitzrovia, Derwent London’s largest development to date, we have made a substantial commitment to ‘handmade’ materials and finishes.
The fact that we proposed to demolish a substantial 1960s building on an entire island site and construct a new building was a huge responsibility. The challenge weighed heavily on our minds from the outset; we felt it was essential to maintain the character of the surrounding area and Fitzrovia.
Certainly, we were unashamedly going to ask our architects, make and Arney Fender Katsalidis, to design a contemporary building but importantly, one that blended in with the history of the area. From the outset, we wanted to break down the mass of each elevation, so as not to overpower neighbouring buildings.
Our philosophy includes ‘borrowing from the past to enhance the future’. Inspiration from famous past master architects has served us well
Consequently, the main frontage on Charlotte Street was eventually resolved as a combination of specialist grey handmade brick from Petersen Tegl’s factory in Denmark, together with a shuttered concrete, inspired by Denys Lasdun’s use of the same material on the South Bank at the National Theatre and the Festival Hall in the 1960s.
