Lyons O'Neill

Vivienne Westwood HQ

The Client came to the design team with a tight site and a need to expand whilst mantaining operations. The Client also had a very hands on approach to the works but little experience with building.

The existing portal frame shed was erected in the 1970’s on the site of a V1 rocket strike. We came up with a scheme which punctured the existing structure whilst leaving it mainly unaltered. This gave us the ability to extend the existing footprint within the site boundary whilst the structure remained 80% occupied. In puncturing the existing structure, we were also able to reuse the existing envelope further reducing costs.

We worked hard to communicate the structural decisions and processes to enable the Client to engage in the process. This allowed the structure to influence the design of the building providing a balanced and integrated end product.

Architect Anarchitect Ltd
Contractor Isle Construction
Client Vivienne Westwood