John Robertson Architects has revitalised a tired 1960s office building in London

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Peter Cook

John Robertson Architects (JRA) has reworked an existing office building in the City of London with a prominent new entrance hall and retail podium. Briefed by client Ocubis with creating ‘Clerkenwell meets the City’, Cannon Green is conceived as a contemporary workplace complete with hot-desking and co-working spaces, as well as bike storage, showers and a cycle workshop.

The site comprised two orthogonal office towers – constructed in 1966 and refurbished in 1981 – separated at ground level. A double-height entrance podium has been introduced, unifying the two buildings and incorporating an interconnected office reception and retail space on the ground floor.

Positioned at an angle to the existing building to maximise the space available, the podium is designed to respond to the surrounding streets, ensuring a sensitive and comparable scale to nearby Cannon Place, while also creating a striking new entrance.

Envisioned as a sculptural object within the entrance hall, a new feature stair follows the curved glass enclosure toward the office lounge on the first floor. Constructed from concrete, the mass and depth of the staircase is intended to complement the exposed steelwork of both the podium and existing building, while also providing a sound barrier to the restaurant space below. The concrete was cast in situ with a fine finish, including a complex variety of curves, landing shapes, and riser depths and widths. An amphitheatre-like space with integrated seating at the top of the stair provides an area for informal meetings.

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