Royal Mint Court has received planning permission for a new development designed by Sheppard Robson, reports Delancey.
The development will transform the historic 5.2 acre central London site into a campus of up to 5 buildings, providing modern flexible office accommodation, with significant public realm and retail facilities, enlivening the 600,000 sq. ft. development and respecting and celebrating its unique historic context.
A proposal to remodel and refurbish the former home of the Royal Mint received planning permission from the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The plans by clients of Delancey and the LRC Group, will offer unique state-of-the-art employment, retail and leisure space in a thriving part of the City.
The central London scheme incorporates five buildings, providing 550,000 sq. ft. of contemporary office space and 50,000 sq. ft. for shops, cafes and restaurants, together with 1.8 acres of landscaped public realm. The designs have been drawn-up by architectural practice Sheppard Robson, with architects Morrow + Lorraine appointed to sympathetically reinvigorate the historic Johnson Smirke building. The public realm will be designed by the internationally acclaimed landscape architect Martha Schwartz.
The flexible floor-plates of the offices are designed to appeal to a wide spectrum of potential occupiers, delivering both large open plan spaces of up to 80,000 sq. ft. and smaller, more dynamic floor spaces for the creative and start-up industries.
The development will be capable of accommodating in excess of 6,000 employees.
The development is a rare opportunity to stitch a prominent, yet currently under-used site, just across the road from the Tower of London and next to St Katharine Dock.
The new office-led development will see the conservation and refurbishment of the historic buildings, complemented by the remodelling and refurbishment of the structures built in the 1980s. New access points and public space will bring to life the state-of-the-art infrastructure and layers of history, spanning seven centuries.
Designed to achieve an ‘Excellent’ BREEAM environmental standard, the sustainable development incorporates in excess of 1,000 bike spaces.
The landscaped public courtyards will also provide flexibility for a large number of possible uses, such as retail pop-ups and seasonal events for tenants and the local community.
Local residents’ views were closely taken into account in the planning stage, following a detailed consultation process. Two public exhibitions were held, alongside regular meetings with key stakeholders, resulting in predominantly positive feedback and many residents voicing their support for the site to be brought back into use with new amenities.
Paul Goswell, Managing Director at Delancey, commented: “We are delighted with the Council’s decision to approve our plans. The scale of Royal Mint Court, coupled with its history and large area of amenity space, make it a one of a kind site in the City of London and we have sought to use this to create an inspirational working environment.
LRC Group commented: “The 600,000 sq. ft. Royal Mint Court masterplan will create one of the most sought after destinations for employment and leisure in London. The striking design of the restored historic Johnson-Smirke, combined with the remodelled, modern architecture with adaptable modern infrastructure, will make Royal Mint Court an unrivalled destination for companies looking to make a bold move in the City.”
Due to the scale of the site, Sheppard Robson’s starting point for the masterplan was to make the development fully accessible and to reinstate the historic setting of the Johnson Smirke centrepiece, which once resolved, guided the composition of the individual buildings and surrounding public spaces.
The masterplan for the project sought to open up the site, with two core routes designed by Sheppard Robson; these run from north-to-south and east-to-west, with the latter framing views of the Tower of London and into the heart of the development.
A new route will also be created to connect St Katharine Docks with Aldgate and beyond, providing step-free access from Tower Hill Underground to the residential neighbourhoods in the east.