Office next to Barbican estate to be transformed into 174 co-living homes
AHMM鈥檚 plans for a retrofit of a 1950s office building next to the Barbican estate have been approved by the City of London.
The proposals for 45 Beech Street have aimed to blend in with its surroundings with a series of round arches on its roof, mimicking the characteristic design motif of Chamberlin, Powell and Bon鈥檚 1970s brutalist complex.
The eight-storey existing building fronts onto the Barbican tunnel and is almost entirely enveloped by the estate, emerging through an indent punched into the estate鈥檚 鈥榸iggurat鈥�.
Designed for developer HUB and Bridges Fund Management, the scheme will transform the site into 174 co-living apartments and ground floor commercial space.
Shravan Joshi, chair of the City of London Corporation鈥檚 planning and transportation committee, said co-living schemes were becoming an important part of the mix for city living, especially for young people.
Retrofit schemes are also being championed by the City, which approved a 鈥榬etrofit-first鈥� policy last year prioritising the refurbishment of existing space over newbuild options.
The City has previously announced an ambition for a 鈥渘et zero Square Mile鈥� by 2040, 10 years ahead of the government鈥檚 target for the rest of the UK.
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