Norfolk House - 31 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4JR

The Location

Norfolk House, located at 31 St James's Square, is an office development in the St James's area of London SW1. The L-shaped, landlocked site is bordered by Waterloo Place to the east, St James's Square to the west, Charles II Street to the north, and Pall Mall to the south.

History

Norfolk House is steeped in history: a collection of buildings in London were originally called Norfolk House, as the collective London residences of the Howard family, headed by the Dukes of Norfolk.

31 St James's Square, Westminster, was built between 1748-1752 for Edward Howard, 9th Duke of Norfolk, designed by Matthew Brettingham (1699-1769), "the Elder". This building was demolished in 1938. The subsequent office block was used during WW2 and was fully refitted until it no longer met modern requirements.

In 2019, the office block was demolished and replaced, with reconstruction of 31 St James Square and 30 Charles II Street neo-Georgian classical-style facades.

The redevelopment of Norfolk House comprised the creation of a new 8-storey, commercial office building, including the reconstruction of two brick and Portland Stone facades. The project also involved additional excavation to create a deeper basement. Ref no 16/09591/FULL.

Problem

A key factor in the decision-making process was retaining the character and appearance of the St James's Conservation Area while meeting current fire regulations and standards.

Solution

CDECK has an authentic, rustic finish, with deep embossed texture mimicking real timber decking, with wide and long boards, suitable for covering large areas. With the A1 Fire Rating, CDECK surpassed the requirements with its durability and technical specifications, blending sympathetically with the environment.