Camden Town Hall Annex extension is a 1960s building on the on the Euston Road, opposite St. Pancras Chambers and bordering one of the many conservation areas in the borough. It is also opposite Pancras Square; now one of London’s main gateway to Europe as visitors exit St. Pancras International. Camden Council had vacated the building and this application was for an extension of the existing structure, with the retention and redevelopment including the addition of a number of floors significantly increasing the height.
Delivered early in the pre-application process, design review can be fundamental in brokering agreement on the fundamental design principles of a scheme. But it can be equally valuable to help unlock progress on an application that has ‘stalled’ in the planning system. Camden Council were concerned about the relationship to context – not least the proposed height in relation to Pancras Chambers – and wanted to be sure that the quality of the design was sufficiently high for such a key location.
We were asked to review the scheme and to provide our thoughts on these particular issues. Holding the review on site, in the existing building, the panel, chaired by Bob Allies, provided clear advice on the application that helped the council determine the application and that enabled the project to progress. The scheme is now built.
- Architects:
- London Borough of Camden
- LPA:
- ORMS