Pennington Street Warehouse
Pennington Street Warehouse, London E1
We provided heritage and structural engineering advice for the extensive refurbishment of this Grade II listed warehouse which was the only surviving building from the 1805 London Dock complex.
The warehouse once 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 stored ‘in bond’ around the dock basin. The building’s most remarkable feature is a vaulted lower floor stretching for its full length.
Our structural engineering work involved cutting new voids into the vaulted structure, bringing natural light and ventilation deep into 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.
The completed building is now a self-designed studio home for architects, masterplanners and placemakers, JTP and falls within a wider residential development of the wider site. It creates a unified space for the teams, preserving the building’s historic context in a modern work environment. The use of timber was maximised as a renewable and recyclable material with low embodied carbon. Material specifications – adhesives, paint, timber, joinery, fabrics, finishes, and furniture – have enabled a VOC-free environment with a post-occupancy air quality assessment of ‘undetectable’. The studio attempts to support its users’ physical, mental and emotional wellbeing: acoustic barriers embedded into furnishings, natural light and sensory elements help improve cognitive accessibility.
The design of the studio achieved a a BREEAM ‘Very Good’ rating. It won London Construction Awards Conversion of the Year and a RIBA London Award.
Client: St George and John Thompson & Partners