A heritage driven refurbishment and contemporary new build extension, delivering retail and commercial workspace within the Norton Folgate masterplan.

British Land
Spitalfields, London
25,000 sqft

  • Design reflects architectural principles of neighbouring Georgian and Victorian properties
  • Mixed use scheme combining adaptive re-use and new-build elements
  • Concept borne out of vast body of research on site history and a rigorous public consultation process
  • Community of small, flexible workplaces driven by principles of low-energy, long-life and loose-fit
  • BREEAM Excellent

Client: British Land
Structural Engineer: AKT II
Services Engineer: Arup
BREEAM Consultant: Atelier 10
Heritage: KM Heritage
Engagement: Hardhat
Landscape: East

Awards

RIBA National Award 2026 - Winner
RIBA London Regional Award 2026 - Winner
Civic Trust Award 2026 - Highly Commended
The Pineapples Award 2025 - Creative Retrofit - Shortlist
AIA Awards 2025 - Outstanding Adaptive Re-Use - Winner
Brick Awards 2025 - Supreme Award Winner
Brick Awards 2025 - Urban Regeneration Winner
BCO Awards 2025 - Refurbished & Recycled Workspace - London Regional Winner

Related work

R7 Featherstone Building
BCO London Regional Award Winners 2025 Refurbished and Recycled Category
Supreme Winners, Brick Awards 2024 The Brick Development Association honours Norton Folgate with its Supreme Award, winner of the Urban Regeneration category, and a Commendation in the Refurbishment and Revitalisation category at the 2024 Brick Awards.
Open House 2024: The Story of Norton Folgate 15 Norton Folgate's historic facade and guided tour
Open House 2024: The Story of Norton Folgate Guided tours
Open House 2024: The Story of Norton Folgate Pre construction exhibition photography by Tim Soar, 2013
Open House 2024: The Liberty of Norton Folgate Models, literature and historic documentation exhibited includes Liner notes to The Liberty of Norton Folgate by Madness, Press Supplements from the 1965 Nicolls and Clarke showroom opening and details of The Manor and Liberty of Norton Folgate1957 Survey of London volume 27.
Open House 2024: The Story of Norton Folgate Working with our colleague architects across the Norton Folgate estate, the design teams hosted an exhibition and guided tours of the site.
Aug 2023-Site visit
Aug 2023-Site visit
Aug 2023-Site visit
On site June 2023
On site June 2023
Facade revisions With sash windows
Grid, Proportion & Fenestration Placement Paper models testing widths & depth of brick piers, cornices and openings.
Architectural Taxonomy A sample selection from the Elder Street Conservation Area.
Extraction of colour and texture from the local material samples.
@kirstyken #TradingPlaces & homage to 1910 bakers-exploring past and future of London @BlossomStreetE1
@Likely_Lass Blossom Street warehouses @BlossomStreet #NortonFolgate
Pre-Planning Exhibition at the Nicholls and Clarke Warehouse A view across the space towards a gathering around the site-wide model.
Pre-Planning Exhibition at the Nicholls and Clarke Warehouse A view of the site and the emerging context.
Public Consultation Event Illustrating key historic images, a timeline, drawings and records.
Public Consultation Event Design development is placed into the display cabinets with proposed visuals mounted onto the walls.
Permeating the Site Site analysis of surrounding streets, links through the site and connection with a central courtyard.
Folgate Street Elevation Exploring the design of 13-14 Norton Folgate and it's relationship with the neighbouring locally listed building.
Aligning Datums A design option testing a full step back on upper floors to align the new parapet with the ridge of the historic neighbouring building.
An Impression An elevation view of the historic overlay combined with the contemporary interventions.
Corner Shot An overview of the embossed historic layer combined with the modern elements of the new corner building.
Historic Overlay Initial facade studies of an embossed layer of the historical context layered onto the facade with large glazed punctures.
Options studies
Turning the Corner Sketches exploring rhythm, proportion and turning the corner from Norton Folgate to Folgate Street.
A Bird's Eye View exploring uses and access of breakout spaces and terraces.
Townscape Macros Analysis Emerging, existing and scale of local context
Historic Overlay Collage of an original historic photo and the Tallis elevation drawing.
Unfolded Street Elevations of Bishopsgate - Part 2 Contextual surveys showing stark contrasts of scale and style on the Bishopsgate axis onto which the site fronts.
Unfolded Elevation of Bishopsgate and Norton Folgate - Part 1 Illustrating a dramatic increase of scale towards the City.
@BlossomStreetE1 Excellent letter on #nortonfolgate from @AHMMArchitects @_SW_News @dugganmorrisarc #@DSDHA in @RIBAJ
Initial Facade Exploration The early experiment explores a possible corner design & it's mediation between the adjacent historic contexts.
Facade study Looking at window placement
From Nicholls & Clarke archive Blossom Street warehouses c1930 which will form part of @BlossomStreetE1 #nortonfolgate
Original signage In the Elder Street Conservation Area
Site Visit Visual inspection of the roofs of the existing Victorian and Georgian terraces.
Existing Site Photo A close-up photograph of the capital of an existing pilaster.

15 Norton Folgate