Haptic Architects submits plans to refurb 1970s Camden office

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How the Haptic Architects-designed refurbishment will look when completed.

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Haptic Architects has lodged plans to refurbish and extend a 1970s office building in Camden with an energy performance so poor that it is currently “unlettable”.

The proposals for Battle Bridge House at 300 Gray’s Inn Road aim to bring the block’s EPC rating up from G, the lowest possible score for energy performance, to A, the highest.

Designed for developer Beltane and building owner Topland, the scheme will retain the existing three and eight-storey block’s superstructure while installing a new facade and topping both elements of the building with two new storeys.

It will create around 4,300sq m of office space, an increase of around 600sq m from the current building, along with seven new homes.

The site is located within the Bloomsbury Conservation area, around 500m South of King’s Cross Station, and is being billed as part of Camden’s growing Knowledge Quarter of tech and bioscience industries.

Haptic described the scheme as an opportunity to turn the “tired, deteriorating and out of date” building into one which can be “celebrated”.

“The EPC rating is ‘G’, making it unlettable, due to the poor façade,” the practice said. “Its appearance within the conservation area is detrimental, and the internal office space is far from the quality expected within the growing Knowledge Quarter.

“However the building sits within a rich, vibrant location, and provides an opportunity to transform the current building, and give it a new lease of life.”

Showcasing how a retention first strategy can transform a building into high quality sustainable workspace and homes, all within an existing structure.

The project team includes project manager Colliers, planning consultant Gerald Eve, cost consultant Exigiere, MEP engineer GDM Partnership, transport consultant Caneparo, structural engineer Elliott Wood and landscape architect BBUK.

Haptic, which has offices in London, Oslo and Bilbao, revealed updated plans in April to build a 45,000sq m waterside scheme in Norway which will include floating saunas and an aquarium with an underwater window facing directly into a fjord.