We worked closely with Westminster City Council to develop a sensitive new office scheme for the St James’s Conservation Area. The project reuses materials to reconstruct two neo-Georgian facades, behind which a new building provides Grade A workspace in the heart of Mayfair. The considered design provides a much-needed replacement for the former, outdated office provision on the site, all while respecting the heritage of the square.
The new building comprises a streamlined massing on a landlocked site between its two facades, respecting surrounding neighbours’ rights to light. The facade along St James’s Square features red bricks, reused stone dressings, and red tiles, while the second facade, on Charles II Street, uses the same masonry elements in a simpler fashion. Our reconstruction restores the traditional detailing of both while adding modern enhancements, including contemporary metalwork and enlarged entrances, and a new metallic mansard.
Interiors are inspired by the site’s history as a royal residence – home to the Duke of Norfolk in the 18th century – and illustrations of the former lavish interiors. Using a veil motif, we included pearlescent and brass materials and natural stones to create two luxurious lobby spaces. Reconfigured floor heights improve daylight and views on the floorplates, while new amenity terraces provide generous outdoor space and high-end facilities continue the hospitality focus throughout the building. The result is a sophisticated, thoughtful design befitting its world-class location in Mayfair.
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-lobby-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=108&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=fb2c4d056022255df29f0f25d67e0176 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-lobby-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=216&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=71df7c08f3dc4be28651a2b3a5b1f345 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-lobby-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=395&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=cfaa7b82b1440f0c4f298877ac833ce1 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-lobby-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=526&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=85efc520335466676a01eff551483166 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-lobby-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=720&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=a7ee2d16ab42a4af86907ce5b2424319 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-lobby-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=823&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=01e2cd1457e8c55062cb129ce51552be 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-lobby-1-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=987&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=10c8801c1840e41bc3703c38c6833fe9 1920w)
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-the-veil-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=277&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=a5f9f0189aa71bf5b51a995123381848 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-the-veil-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=553&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=89b13f7f35ea856670dec2deb21ccb84 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-the-veil-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1011&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=cb8201baa5a3838a27d2a7f74b2882e2 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-the-veil-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1348&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=56a6f85c2c69e0edb332b7b3274c0af2 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-the-veil-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1844&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=5f0e48c0aa03a601c2028f24bd766b53 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-the-veil-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2107&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=583e35d0cdc61a9d4bca59f4db8e4460 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-the-veil-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=2528&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=a50ef2ff7143e60dd7a68af761cdbd91 1920w)
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-toilet-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=140&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=6ec9ca7318570fb2a87bd1ce5b41c888 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-toilet-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=7afae18e27407671a40d42a6b06f02ed 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-toilet-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=512&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=2ed67b1d555438de2a22d1cce2bdf775 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-toilet-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=682&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=473cd8bb813e91c1d8005241e63ee484 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-toilet-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=933&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=91208e85613b2c4541722199ff4555ad 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-toilet-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1066&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=b47233f01394307f2cc384eb4e9f7124 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-toilet-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1280&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=b20698cf40dc40177fa26db6be9f02fd 1920w)
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-end-of-trip-cycle-rack-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=118&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=1891bf2c61cd75a7e6332983c72c36bb 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-end-of-trip-cycle-rack-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=236&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=407af3d4f4a727877ddd1a4e9661c1be 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-end-of-trip-cycle-rack-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=432&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=a716a912dbac74e0a4bee3790cab3d63 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-end-of-trip-cycle-rack-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=576&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=ffc88cc0be495fdc83f5ba3622e6469b 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-end-of-trip-cycle-rack-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=788&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=93e1eac2732bd01b7b923575f2c83944 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-end-of-trip-cycle-rack-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=900&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=a1ccb71e3be6bda661667d0f8125d697 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-end-of-trip-cycle-rack-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1080&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=ddf2a1ee3a2e26bfe5dd0b50960ed582 1920w)
![#](https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-roof-terrace-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=118&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=210&s=09a40af73cb01f6c715e12a336fbf759 210w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-roof-terrace-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=236&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=420&s=76c1d1496821f0fdf0a377687f2c8428 420w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-roof-terrace-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=432&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=768&s=1a83ed0210fe4850ccf175a2b990072e 768w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-roof-terrace-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=576&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1024&s=a4483375bb8bb3636dda801f2c0ad0ed 1024w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-roof-terrace-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=788&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1400&s=6d94339f04f80408b63923d0591904f1 1400w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-roof-terrace-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=900&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1600&s=dbc7dbe4988f7cf0c5ebe4b8ae920b28 1600w,https://make-arch.imgix.net/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.makearchitects.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F06%2FNorfolk-House-roof-terrace-scaled.jpg?auto=format&crop=center&fit=crop&h=1080&ixlib=php-1.2.1&w=1920&s=62dd5533afbc3244f39a5148fc4164e4 1920w)