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Throw back thursday!

September 12, 2024

Both the projects I visited are in Camden; the first is The Courtyard on Gloucester Avenue, formerly a complex of warehouses for the Electric Telegraph Company in the late Victorian era, and the second is the locally famous Art Deco Marine Ices building on Haverstock Hill.

It's gratifying to see how both these developments have matured since completion and sit comfortably within their respective contexts, demonstrating what a powerful idea it is to retain and refurbish our urban architectural heritage. Today, both properties are flourishing residences that contribute vitality, vibrance, and elegance to Camden and Primrose Hill.

Visiting them and taking these pictures strongly reaffirmed my beliefs that giving older buildings a new lease of life with thoughtful and sympathetic restoration and refurbishment should always be the preferred option.

The benefits of retention are clear from all angles: environmental, social, and architectural. We leverage the carbon already embodied in the original construction, create modern new homes in well-established commercial and residential centres, and preserve the architectural heritage familiar to, and often loved by,  the people living and working nearby.

We are blessed in London with a rich mix of architecture from centuries of building and development, and while there must always be "the new", it needn't always be at the expense of "the old". I'm proud to have been closely involved with both these projects and delighted at how they have both matured into integral parts of the urban fabric of this London district.