Fifteen luxury apartments have been created as part of a new mixed-use building behind the grade II listed facade at 55-91 Knightsbridge. It was the longest facade retention scheme in London.

MSMR Architects were responsible for designing the residential area, which backs up and over the building, with office spaces along the first and second floor and independent retail units along the ground level.

Assigned the job in 2014 for APML Estates, the design drew inspiration from the building’s Edwardian heritage, with a rich palette of materials, textures and intricate detailing. Working closely with artisan suppliers, the team sought out bespoke joinery, ironmongery, stonework and metalwork.

One intricate requirement posed a unique challenge in bringing this project to completion. The client had extremely high acoustic requirements and, with the Piccadilly line running almost directly under the site, the vibrational energy generated would have led to undesirable noise levels within the building.

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