THE LANTERN

– 6
THE LANTERN – EDITION 3 SUMMER 2015
Alistair Brierley
At either side of the entrance we felt
double-height retail units, with their large
windows and contemporary feel, would
further help bring the ground floor to life.
28 sits in the main retail parade along
Chancery Lane and these new shops,
which have the potential to be flagship
stores, will come to serve the needs of the
thousands of office workers moving into
the area.
From bottom to top, careful planning
continued as 28 was required to enhance
the skyline of Chancery Lane. For the
three additional upper floors we settled on
a glass design in the form of a lightweight
and reflective cube, conceived almost to
blur into the sky itself, maximising the
view of London for anyone lucky enough
to work there. It’s through the glass cube
that light will flood the building’s atrium,
creating a stunning internal space.
Each new floor was also given its own
terrace and individual garden, designed
not just for amenity space but as a haven
for wildlife too.
The architectural challenge is never
just the outer skin, it runs right through
the building. This was never more so
than here. Quite apart from the defining
features such as the stunning atrium,
we needed to deliver the basics of an
efficient and geometrically simple floor
plate, as ease of use is everything to a
modern occupier.
Given the care and attention paid to
the design of 28 Chancery we’re confident
that it will add a new dynamic to the
evolving streetscape. It is a beautifully
detailed construction, with pitch-perfect
proportions that uses quality materials.
The first solitary drawing multiplied
into hundreds more and later took flight
as a suite of computer-generated images
offering a glimpse into the future. These
in turn became the technical drawings
that today line the walls of the site office,
governing each and every movement,
as the building starts to come to life.
www.gmw-architects.com