British Academy Restoration, Carlton House Terrace Building Renovation, Architecture Images

British Academy London Refurbishment

29 Aug 2020

British Academy Restoration

Design: Wright & Wright

Location: Carlton House Terrace, St. James’s, London, England, UK

Informal Meeting Area 2:

This Carlton House Terrace project won Listed Building Consent this summer. Wright & Wright has started work on a project to remodel the grade I-listed offices of the British Academy in central London. The British architecture practice won listed building consent in June 2020 for the project which will increase the capacity of offices on two floors of the building at 10-11 Carlton House Terrace in St James’s.

Finance Office:

The British Academy is a learned society focusing on the humanities and social sciences, with an international fellowship of 1,300 academics.

Rotunda:

Wright & Wright Architects have started on site at The British Academy to transform its staff areas at the Grade I listed home at 10 – 11 Carlton House Terrace in London. The refurbishment on the second and third floors will accommodate staff growth, enhance the overall working environment and address the need to provide more flexible ways of working following the Covid – 19 pandemic.

Research Office:

Following a feasibility study that was carried out by the practice in Autumn 2019, the project received Listed Building Consent in June 2020.

Wright & Wright’s redesign respects the Listed building by retaining and restoring historic features while introducing small – scale contemporary interventions to improve connectivity between staff departments. Addressing the need for growing staff numbers and the option to provide greater flexibility for future expansion, the refurbishment will see an increase in
workstations by almost 25%,meeting space will double, andstaff social and informal spaceswill growby 231%.

Informal Meeting Area:

A new centralised staff social and informal working space is intended to improve staff welfareand encouragecollaboration amongst staff.

Working closely withfurniture consultancy Collaborate, furniture has been carefullyconsidered to meet the evolving working requirements of a growing workforce. The redesign also sees theintroduction of new IT infrastructure and improvements to legibility and wayfinding

President’s Office:

Stephen Smith, Partner at Wright & Wright Architects said ‘Our remodelling project at the British Academy, will transform ways of working within the wonderful Grade 1 listed setting. The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into sharp focus the need to carefully consider the means for clients to appreciate space, light, natural ventilation and to allow for new collaborative ways of working both in their workplaces and remotely.’

Collaborative Meeting Room:

Graeme Appleby, Director of Resources at The British Academy said:
‘The Academy is incredibly fortunate to call 10 – 11 Carlton House our home and it is a pleasure to work in such a beautiful and historic setting. That said, it has been a challenge to provide a work environment that enables collaboration, flexibility and growth while preserving and enhancing the building’s historical features. Wright & Wright have not only risen to that challenge, with a thoughtful and elegant design, they have also thought carefully about how to provide spaces that will enable socially distanced working for as long as that will be required.’

The construction phase commenced in August 2020 and is expected to complete in October 2020

Secretariat Officer:

“Wright & Wright are delighted to be redesigning the spaces within the British Academy, to reflect their commitment to broaden engagement with researchers, thinkers and the public.

Our approach has been to research thoroughly the building’s historic development so that we understand where change is possible; and where we can develop the existing duality of spatial and material themes that define the place with its charm, beauty and ambiguity.

Within this context, we will work with the Academy to rethink this remarkable building as an incubator of ideas and public engagement.”

Clare Wright

Whole building section: