Heyne Tillett Steel - an innovative company of structural engineers – approached us to design their new studio as a model for sustainable, low-carbon design.
Their vision was to creatively adapt a four storey 1930s warehouse in Hoxton to house their team of 180 and provide space to host industry events.
We extended the masonry building with a new vertical structure over an existing yard and added a top floor with a striking sawtooth profile.
Lightweight CLT panels and glulam beams were used for the roof and side extensions, alongside a new steel-encased entrance and circulation core.
Collaborative studio spaces are housed within the extended building, connected by a new feature stair. The flexible top floor features four 10m long north-light windows within the roof profile to maximise indirect light.
Sandblasted masonry internally celebrates the original structure, while exposed CLT articulates the junctions of old and new fabric. Viewed collectively, the material palette creates a considered and honest expression of the building’s past and present.
Total embodied carbon for the project outperformed current RIBA, LETI and IStructE targets at 171kgC02e/m2, and operationally is predicted to achieve a value of 89.6kwh/m2/year - well within the RIBA 2025 target of 100kwh/m2/year.
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Completed in 2022, Chart Street Studios has been a showcase for Heyne Tillett Steel’s commitment to low carbon re-use.
Described by Mark Tillett as ‘the best piece of marketing we’ve ever done’, the project delivered a multi award-winning studio, and a flexible space to bring people together for hosted events and parties.
“Ian Chalk Architects added an amazing energy to the creative process of designing our studio. The team held tight to our vision, adding innovative ideas & positively challenging decisions to ensure we didn’t compromise on the finished scheme. The end result is an award-winning, sustainable building we love spending time in.”
Tom Steel,
HTS