Open House London 2016
31 Aug 2016
Come and visit us at Open House London 2016
We are proud to announce that our London Studios located at Clareville House will be part of this year’s biggest festival of architecture and design in the capital. It is a free event open to the public, so whether you are interested in architecture, interior design, or just simply want to look around, why not pop into our studio and let us give you an insightful tour and show you what we do and talk about the architectural history behind Clareville House.
Set in a central location at the heart of the West End and situated on the top floor, our studio offers stunning views of the city. From our windows you’ll be able to see some of London’s most iconic landmarks such as the London Eye, The National Gallery, St Martin in the Fields and The Shard.
To ensure that you get the most out of your visit our very own architects will be here to provide exclusive tours and talks to small groups and even couples or individuals for a more one-to-one experience. Let our architects enlighten you as you explore the beauty of this historic neo-regency building and its transformation over the years. Delve into some of our key projects such as Center Parcs and Forest Holidays. This is a rare opportunity to visit the inside of our London Studios and we wish to give you a positively memorable experience.
Visitor details
Address Clareville House, 26-27 Oxendon Street SW1Y 4EL. We are conveniently located between Piccadilly Circus and Leicester Square tube stations.
Date and time Saturday 17th September 2016 from 10am – 5pm. Last entry at 4.45pm
Additional information
- Access for wheelchair users
- Architect on site
- Refreshments available
- Toilets available
About Clareville House
– 1963 –
Clareville House is a building of two basements, a ground floor, and five upper floors. It stands on a street block bounded by Oxendon Street, Panton Street, Whitcomb street and a narrow passage, Whitcomb Court. It lies within the Haymarket Conservation Area.
It was designed in the late 1950s and completed in 1963 as Stone’s Chop House by Sir Albert Richardson (1880-1964). Stone’s Chop House was a famous 150-seat restaurant, a branch of the renowned Simpson’s in the Savoy. It existed until 1981, after which a night club was established in the lower floors of the building. Sir Albert Richardson was known for his grand classicist edifices and his books – especially for Monumental Classic Architecture in Great Britain and Ireland, (1914), which established his reputation as a scholar.
Clareville House is a fine example of modern neo-regency design with well-proportioned facades and detailing. It is especially interesting for its elegant facades in Portland stone and yellow brick. It has nine bays onto Panton Street with chamfered corners filled with stylised flattened urns in stone clad frames.
The south-facing composition to Panton Street is symmetrical with the central emphasis given at first floor level by black-painted neo-regency trellis-work which surrounds large, floor to ceiling windows. The remaining first floor windows have stone surrounds and cornices. The top storey is stone clad with horizontal windows recessed between paired stone pilasters. Richardson leaves out the columns but has the true sense of profile and light and shade. It seems that the facades interested Richardson more than other elements of the building.
The building is a real attempt to adapt and extend the 18th century language to modern conditions and shows the hand of a dedicated classicist.
Clareville House was Grade II listed in 1995 as “a refined neo-regency building by an important classical architect” following the listing of another Richardson project – Bracken House – also a “stripped classicist” edifice, completed for Financial Times in 1954-1959. It bears some resemblance to Clareville House and was the first post-war building listed in Britain.
– 2009 –
The architects Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands undertook a major refurbishment of Clareville House between 2005 and 2009. They created a new link structure with stair cores and glazed panoramic lifts within the previously U-shaped building. This greatly improved circulation and created an attractive lightwell (imagined as a landscaped oasis). All of which created a more useable, modern office space with open-plan accommodation and unobstructed views.
The job was detailed in a contemporary manner sympathetic to original building. The structural frame and elevations survived the refurbishment almost intact, whereas old cores and car-lifts leading to the basement floors holding carpark were removed.
– 2011 –
In 2011 Holder Mathias signed the lease for the top floor of Clareville House, and prepared a project for the interior of its own studio. In December 2011, they moved from their Conduit Street studios where they had previously been for more than a decade.
Architects of Clareville House Richardson/Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands/HMA
For more information about Open House, visit their website on: www.openhouselondon.org.uk