27 Eccleston Place

The renovation of 27 Eccleston Place – now known as Ice Factory - has breathed new life into a former industrial building to create workspace, retail and two new restaurants over five floors. Thus completing our two-stage masterplan of Eccleston Yards. As a retrofit scheme, we demonstrated how an existing building that had been designed for industrial use and then only served as large, shed-like commercial space could be reimagined into a mixed-use scheme through a sequence of simple, key moves. Architecturally, the façade’s original cast iron beams and columns which face onto Eccleston Yards were retained, with the rivetted ironwork repainted in a striking red oxide paint. The existing arched openings were also restored to provide entrances to the retail space and office space. The additional two storeys are clad in brick with a subtle tonal difference marking the distinction between old and new. Where windows and other apertures on the existing building are infilled, the same tonal difference marks where work has taken place to record the modifications made to the building. A new restaurant has been created on the fourth floor, with full-height glazing and two terraces that officer external dining space looking out over surrounding rooftops and the open space of Eccleston Yards. The office element of the proposals was designed to achieve BREEAM Excellent and the retail element to BREEAM Very Good. The project prioritises a circular economy by retaining the existing structure and reusing existing materials to reduce embodied carbon emissions, such as reclaimed raised access floors. A circular Economy was applied through construction to reduce material use and waste generation, including the use of low-impact materials such as Cemfree to reduce embodied carbon emissions. Operational Carbon was tackled through the specification of rooftop-mounted photovoltaic panels and an all-electric heating and cooling system with 100% green energy procurement.