黑洞社区

Westminster City Council has approved proposals to turn former Department of Transport offices in a prime part of central London into a 60-home residential development.

EPR Architects鈥� plans involve the sustainable refurbishment of  the Great Minster East 黑洞社区, at the junction of Horseferry Road and Marsham Street, but the retention of a ground-floor-level car showroom. The upper floors of the building were formerly used as apartments.

The practice said its work would strip out  鈥渁ll unnecessary and over elaborate ornamentation of the existing post modern design鈥� while taking influence from other nearby refurbishments to 鈥渞einterpret鈥� the Edwardian Mansion blocks typical of the Westminster Abbey Conservation Area.

It said the reuse of the concrete frame represented the equivalent of 20% of the building鈥檚 carbon footprint over 60 years.  

鈥淚n addition the proposals will deliver many passive and energy efficient measures as well as complying with the requirements of Lifetime Homes to provide a design equal to any new build development, all of which can be delivered without causing the significant disruption to adjoining owners and the immediate area that would inevitably result from a new build development on the same site,鈥� the practice added.