BW transforms historic Harella House in London’s Clerkenwell
BW: Workplace Experts was founded in 1999 by a couple of innovation-minded individuals determined to shake up the fit out sector. Their determination to do things differently is still what drives them almost twenty years later.
BW: Workplace Experts has sensitively refurbished Harella House on Goswell Road in Clerkenwell. In total, six floors of lettable Cat A office space have been created for Chait Investment Corporation, within a characterful building, which now has three new terraced areas.
Harella House dates back to the 1930s, starting out as a garment factory for Harella Clothing Manufacturers. This enterprising firm was famous in its day for producing garments in a wider range of women’s sizes. The 55,000 sq ft building has large Crittall windows, which were intended to create natural light filled spaces that could accommodate large items of machinery. BW managed the erection of scaffolding to the full perimeter of the building and a full temporary roof, enabling the original facade to be cleaned and all existing windows to be replaced with new Crittall. An electrical substation to the rear has been decommissioned and relocated into the basement and ground floor, with the access point on Gee Street.
A new reception entrance has been created on Goswell Road, providing the main access to the building. Original features have been restored, with exposed steel columns and brick piers on the upper floors and sanded timber sarking boards on level 4. Also, on this level, the roof has been completely replaced and altered to create a mezzanine floor, with new roof slates throughout.
To the rear, adjacent to the neighbouring offices, a single-storey extension has been demolished and completely rebuilt to enable a larger ground floor area. A rooftop garden, a highly desirable element for contemporary workplaces, has also been created.
Anthony Brown, Sales & Marketing Director of BW: Workplace Experts said:
“I’m delighted that the BW team were able to bring this period building back to life, refurbishing the existing structure, adding contemporary features and managing the building works in a timely manner.”
Daniel Salako, Associate Director at CBRE said:
“I’d like to take this opportunity to thank both BW and the wider consultant team for their combined and continued efforts on the project and I think we can all agree that following the recent refurbishment works, Harella House is now one of the best (if not the best) commercial office spaces on offer in Clerkenwell.”
A 94-week programme of rebuilding and structural alternations, Harella House has been completely reinvented as a twenty-first century workplace.
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