Built heritage assessment for the refurbishment of Grade II listed building Grace Hall
Grace Hall was built in 1927 as a London branch of the New York bank Grace & Co. No longer in banking use, Camm & Hooper wanted to refurbish and restore the banking hall to its former glory and use it as a specialist events space. As a Grade II listed building Grace Hall has statutory protection, and any works which may affect its special architectural or historic interest require Listed Building Consent.
We worked closely with the design team and provided heritage design advice to ensure that the proposed works would preserve the heritage significance of the listed building. This advice was informed by detailed historical research and an assessment of the significance of the building. We worked closely with the planning consultant and local planning authority to ensure a smooth application process and produced a detailed Built Heritage Statement to support the planning and listed building consent applications.
Key details
Project name
Grace Hall
Client
Camm & Hooper
Location
147 Leadenhall Street, London, United Kingdom
Services provided
- Built heritage
Challenge
As a statutorily listed building any works which may affect its special architectural or historic interest require Listed Building Consent. This includes internal as well as external alterations. To receive consent, proposals should preserve, and ideally enhance, the heritage significance of the listed building. The client had a tight deadline and needed to get on site immediately to meet it.
Solution
Through historical research and assessment of the fabric of the building, we were able to provide a detailed assessment of the significance of the listed building, identifying to the client and design team the areas of highest heritage sensitivity, areas which would be more tolerant to alteration, and areas which could be enhanced (for example through removal of non-original and insensitive fabric/alterations).
Through discussion with the local planning authority we were able to agree a soft strip of the non-original fittings prior to receiving consent, thereby enabling the client to get on site and start preparing the building for further alterations. The detailed initial research and early consultation with the local planning authority also ensured the application was determined within the target 8-week period.