The Skipper Building

GPAD was instructed to design a flexible, open-plan workplace at 83 Clerkenwell Road. The complete refurbishment of four linked buildings provides high quality office accommodation arranged over five storeys and brings the building up to modern standards. The site is located on the junction of Clerkenwell Road and Hatton Garden, in the Hatton Garden Conservation Area.

The redevelopment creates a new rear extension and external terraces, carving out new openings to form an entrance and reception which uses natural materials, feature lighting and bronze detailing. Tenant amenities have been carefully considered and throughout the building to create a well-designed working environment.

Internally, the workspaces have been designed to fit tenants who typically work in the area, with small hives of desks or lounge-like areas. The office space, as a whole, provides ample room for informal conversations, collaboration and the sharing of ideas; which extends externally into the landscaped roof garden. The renovations also include a fully BREEAM compliant cycle centre facility in the basement, utilising previously under-used storage and plant areas and encouraging tenants to use more carbon friendly means of transportation.

The character of the four historic buildings is varied and derives from its many detailed industrial, commercial, and residential buildings of the late nineteenth to mid twentieth centuries. This atypical façade is a fine example of its type and will undergo a sensitive repair and redecoration which will introduce the next iteration of the building’s life. Internally, the neutral palette of materials takes cues from the historic brick walls and lets the activity of the user come into relief.

Project Address: 83 Clerkenwell Road, London EC1R 5AR
Borough: Camden
Client: CBRE GI
Size: 19,315 sqft
Status: Complete