Scott Brownrigg has completed 28 Chancery Lane for developer Viridis Real Estate on behalf of its client investors.

Lying in the heart of the mid-town district between the City and the West End, the £37m, nine-storey building brings together the dynamism of the City with the spectacle of the West End.

Scott Brownrigg remodelled and rationalised a previously approved scheme for two buildings, creating the one highly efficient building which allows for 40% more lettable floor space and combines 98,000 sq ft of flexible, contemporary office space with 6.500 sq ft of ground floor retail space.

The building’s design respectively responds to and complements the historic streetscape of the surrounding area. In enhancing the local townscape and responding to its immediate neighbours, 28 Chancery Lane has been carefully modelled and articulated. Acknowledging both the historic and flamboyant nature of Chancery Lane and the more modest qualities of the neighbouring Bream's Buildings, it combines the retained façade of Lonsdale Chambers on Chancery Lane, with a distinctive contemporary office building addressing the remainder of the site.

The BREEAM Excellent, sensitive design enhances the urban grain, scale and texture of the Chancery Lane Conservation Area, successfully upholding the richness and diversity of the locality and providing a dynamic and active frontage along Chancery Lane and Bream’s Buildings. 

The fabric of Lonsdale Chambers has been integrated by bringing together the existing and proposed façades in a way that reinforces the composition, developing a synergy between the old and the new elevations. Above the main parapet line the office space is set back and expressed as a simple glass enclosure lit by a central atrium space. The offices are entered through the central arch of Lonsdale Chambers via a new sinuous glass canopy. This provides a contrast to the monolithic character of the stone façade. The rest of the Chancery Lane frontage remains in retail use. Double height units with large, contemporary windows help bring the ground floor to life and are a welcome addition to the evolving streetscape.