Planning secured for Fox Court's retrofit
11.11.2025
Our second project with General Projects to gain planning in recent weeks, Fox Court reimagines a tired 1960s office block near Hatton Garden as a highly sustainable workplace.
Designed in collaboration with Buckley Gray Yeoman, 86% of the existing structure will be retained and floor area increased by 75% through a new hybrid steel and cross-laminated timber frame extension.
Retaining structure, reducing carbon, expanding potential
Doing more with less
86% of the existing structure will be retained, with the floor area increased by 75% through a new hybrid steel and cross-laminated timber (CLT) extension. This approach minimises additional loads on the existing frame and foundations while significantly reducing embodied carbon.
Using archival structural information from The Building Archives, we were able to back-analyse the existing piles, foundations and 1970s superstructure to understand their capacity under new loads. This detailed re-assessment unlocked opportunities to reuse the original structure, saving 42,240 tonnes of material and avoiding 4,462 tonnes of embodied carbon compared to demolition and rebuild.
A design shaped by place and purpose
The design draws inspiration from the character of nearby Bloomsbury and Holborn, using red-toned terrazzo, stone and metal to reframe a once-anonymous corner of Gray’s Inn Road. Inside, naturally lit workspaces and new terraces at every level create a connection between work, wellbeing and nature, with over 15,000 square feet of outdoor green space for building users.
At ground level, 12,000 square feet of affordable workshops and studios will support Hatton Garden’s jewellery-making community, helping the craft traditions that define this part of London to continue.
