RIBA Regional Awards 2014: London
115 Golden Lane, Farringdon
Amin Taha Architects for private client
Contract £650,000. GIA 720m2
This is the architecture of scrape and reveal, yielding opulent austerity. A solid, unremarkable but good brick-and-iron commercial building has had years of thoughtless accretions removed to bring it back to its original fabric – with in-keeping ultra-restrained new elements. Check out the structural waxed steel bookcase, off which a steel stair is cantilevered. Polished concrete, oak and glass provide the rest of the palette. Original timber beams are revealed. A Miesian glass-box meeting room appears to float in space. Outside, imaginative bronzed steelwork is used for laser-cut security screens. It’s about 20% cheaper than a standard refurb and looks great. Not your ordinary office, for sure.
