Work starts on Building E, Paddington Basin
London, 25 Sep 2007

Ground preparatory work on mossessian & partners’ scheme for Merchant Square at Paddington Basin has begun. This major scheme by Michel Mossessian, former Design Lead at SOM London and his first since starting his own practice, forms the commercial element of phase one of European Land’s development plans for the site and is due to complete in November 2009.



Design principal Michel Mossessian said; “We are delighted that our first major scheme in London forms part of the prestigious Merchant Square development. This marks a significant milestone in the ongoing regeneration at Paddington Basin and in the development of our practice.”

Building E, Merchant Square is a slender, elegant and sculptural building comprising 260,000 sq ft of office space, with public lobby areas, retail on the ground floor and a health club in the basement. mossessian & partners led the design with Perkins + Will as executive architects.

Composed of three contrasting triangular elements, its dynamic form presents an animated façade on all sides, enlivening the canal frontage, addressing the existing office buildings to the west. The building envelope features varied textures and patterns, including bold use of colour, to emphasise lightness and improve energy efficiency.



mossessian & partners have also designed an adjacent building at Merchant Square - a residential scheme of 226,000 sq ft which also has planning approval. The Merchant Square development comprises six architecturally diverse buildings in total, accommodating a mix of retail, restaurant, leisure, commercial and residential functions spread over a total area of 1.8 million sq ft. The scheme includes 559 residential units, 30% of which will be social housing. The buildings are set within a high quality public realm with a major new canal side square as its focal point.

The development has been named Merchant Square to reflect the area’s past as a key point of trade and to celebrate its proposed regeneration into a contemporary and thriving new community.



Current work at mossessian & partners includes a 350,000 m2 mixed-use development in Lisbon, a 78-unit high-end residential building in central London and a residential conversion of a 200,000 sq ft office building. The practice has also been short-listed for a major new scheme in Glasgow and the design of a new, high-profile international school in France.

mossessian & partners is an international studio for architecture, planning, technology and design, established in 2005. Following twenty years’ design experience on major projects in Chicago, New York, Paris, and London, founder Michel Mossessian chose to establish his practice in London to focus on the demands of complex, high density urban spaces. His wealth of experience at the highest international level includes leading the design team that won the competition for the new NATO headquarters in Brussels as well as the team that won the international competition for the ecologically advanced ParcBIT masterplan in Majorca.

The practice’s design approach and the emphasis on rigorous methodologies is the result of Mossessian’s close working relationship with Bruce Graham at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill in Chicago, his time leading the multifunctional practice A4A and as lead designer at SOM’s London office. Michel has been involved in the development of numerous award-winning projects including Exchange House, London and Villa Olympica, Barcelona.

mossessian & partners’ architecture is predicated upon a powerful conceptual approach, manifesting itself in flowing geometries and complex counterpoint. The practice’s design ethos and response to the client brief always reflect the complexity and richness of site and context. Michel and his multicultural team have a deep understanding of technology, urbanity and sustainability and have established strong collaborative relationships with executive architects to ensure delivery of large-scale projects.



London Buildings

Merchant Square architects - mossessian & partners

Paddington buildings: various architects incl. Richard Rogers


World Architects

Merchant Square Paddington info from mossessian & partners via ING Media 250907

World Architecture : e-architect - a guide to key buildings across the globe

Buildings / photos for the Merchant Square Photos page welcome:
info@e-architect.co.uk

Merchant Square London - page: adrian welch / isabelle lomholt