Pennington Street Warehouse
Pennington Street Warehouse, London E1
Following initial heritage advice, Alan Baxter were the structural engineers for the refurbishment of this Grade II listed warehouse, the only surviving original building from the 1805 London Dock complex.
The warehouse formed the northern perimeter of the Dock, and its Pennington Street façade stretches unbroken for an impressive 300m, designed to keep secure the valuable goods such as wines and spirits stored ‘in bond’ in the warehouses around the dock basin. The building’s most remarkable feature is the vaulted lower floor stretching for its full length.
It has now been converted to a mix of uses by St George, as part of a residential redevelopment of the wider site.This means public access for the first time in the warehouse’s 200 year history.Our work involved cutting new voids into the vaulted structure, bringing natural light and ventilation to the basement and creating new ‘circulation zones’ for improved access. New glazed screens from ground to roof divide the space into separate units for different uses. The roof of the building has been altered and replaced to make space for new mezzanines, which expose and express the structure, requiring careful detailing and liaison with the architects.
Client: St George and John Thompson & Partners