50 Russell Square Bloomsbury, London WC1
A contextual urban infill project precedent showcasing how a modern brick and precast frame building integrates with historic London terrace architecture.
- What we like about this project
- Subtle shift in framing tone that bridges the heavy brown brick massing with the lighter precast vertical elements.
Materials
- brick
- precast-concrete
- glass
- metal
Visual identifiers
- brick-facade
- vertical-grid
- terracotta-precast
- corner-building
- punched-windows
Style tags
- contemporary
- contextual
- urban-infill
Visual tags
- urban-infill
- contextual
- commercial
- brickwork
- street-edge
- Geometry
- A corner urban block stepped in height, featuring a deeply articulated grid of vertical bays and slender terracotta-toned precast framing elements against brown brick massing.
- Facade system
- Precast framing elements inset with brick piers and deeply recessed glazing units.
- Structural guess
- Steel or concrete frame with masonry backup and non-loadbearing facade panels.
- Spatial scale
- Six to seven-story urban commercial or mixed-use building, matched in scale to neighboring historic context.
- Lighting
- Bright, even daylight casting soft shadows across the facade relief, highlighting the depth of the window reveals.
- Atmosphere
- Structured, calm, and respectful of historic surroundings through refined material translation.
- Environmental context
- Dense urban streetscape in London with traditional multi-story historic Georgian or Victorian brick townhouses framing the new infill.
- Spatial experience
- The building anchors the street corner, stepping down to engage adjacent historic terrace housing while maintaining a commanding vertical rhythm.
- Composition rhythm
- Regular vertical structural bays punctuated by recessed windows and accented by horizontal string courses.
- Style reading
- Contextual contemporary urban architecture
- Program
- Commercial office or mixed-use building
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture
- Materials
- brick, precast-concrete, glass, metal
- Visual identifiers
- brick-facade, vertical-grid, terracotta-precast, corner-building, punched-windows
- Style tags
- contemporary, contextual, urban-infill
- Visual tags
- urban-infill, contextual, commercial, brickwork, street-edge
- Geometry
- A corner urban block stepped in height, featuring a deeply articulated grid of vertical bays and slender terracotta-toned precast framing elements against brown brick massing.
- Facade system
- Precast framing elements inset with brick piers and deeply recessed glazing units.
- Structural guess
- Steel or concrete frame with masonry backup and non-loadbearing facade panels.
- Spatial scale
- Six to seven-story urban commercial or mixed-use building, matched in scale to neighboring historic context.
- Lighting
- Bright, even daylight casting soft shadows across the facade relief, highlighting the depth of the window reveals.
- Atmosphere
- Structured, calm, and respectful of historic surroundings through refined material translation.
- Environmental context
- Dense urban streetscape in London with traditional multi-story historic Georgian or Victorian brick townhouses framing the new infill.
- Spatial experience
- The building anchors the street corner, stepping down to engage adjacent historic terrace housing while maintaining a commanding vertical rhythm.
- Composition rhythm
- Regular vertical structural bays punctuated by recessed windows and accented by horizontal string courses.
- Style reading
- Contextual contemporary urban architecture
- Program
- Commercial office or mixed-use building
- Perspective
- Exterior Facade
- Discipline
- architecture