Grainhouse:

Bold New Purpose for a Historic London ​ Corner

Location: Covent Garden, London

Architect: Barr Gazetas

Building details: 91,000 sqft

Type: Mixed-use

Earning a nomination for ‘Best Conversion Project’ for the MIPIM Awards 2024, Grainhouse reimagines a charming historic warehouse complex with lovingly restored brick walls, striking design, excellent amenities, and a focus on sustainability. The result? A flagship headquarters building, and world-class social setting, embedded in one of London’s most storied neighborhoods. ​

Envisioning a Place for the Future—With Respect for a Storied Past

Once home to a Victorian seed warehouse, Grainhouse created one new modern space by interlinking five buildings​ in Covent Garden, London, each with its own distinct history. For years, the site was earmarked for redevelopment, but due to its complexity and the general context of the Covent Garden conservation area, several previous schemes were refused by planners. The project brief was generated by the opportunity to create an entire city block under the same ownership. The scheme draws on the building’s light industrial former uses and sensitively restores many of the original features​ that date from this time, including stonework, mouldings and brickwork, whilst introducing contemporary elements. The desire to retain the historic character of the buildings’ facades externally while combining the interior plans to form a single, flexible open-plan office space internally​ was an innovative and inherently challenging approach and key to the success of the project.

From Grain to Green - A Focus on Sustainability

• The foremost feature of the building’s sustainability strategy was retaining the fabric and existing structure, in addition to reusing elements and materials throughout and was engineered to achieve BREEAM Excellent.

• Hines engaged with the Covent Garden Area trust to feed into the design process, ensuring the project benefitted the local community and future visitors.

• The project team also worked alongside the local council to bring to life the pedestrianization of Dryden Street, reducing carbon emission in the area and giving the space back to the users.

• A 61% carbon emission savings against baseline Building Regulations Part L 2013, which exceeds the Greater London Authority minimum requirements for on-site reduction.

• An embodied carbon figure of 320kgCO2/m2, surpassing LETI targets of 500kgCO2/m2.

Other sustainability measures include increased thermal performance, new fabric that surpasses building regulation requirements by 30%, new double-glazed windows, highly efficient services, a green roof and roof garden with over 300 plant species to attract different species of pollinators, birds and bats.

"Grainhouse represents the pinnacle of Hines' design style and model of investment, development and management, from the original acquisition through to the launch of this world-class headquarters building, which is a deserved home for our talented Hines team."

LARS HUBER, CEO, HINES EUROPE

Raising the Bar for Workplace Experience

Grainhouse has surpassed everyone’s expectations. The project not only successfully unifies five buildings rich in history but puts people and their wellbeing at its heart, whilst raising the bar for activity-based workspace.

• Users have access to communal landscaped terraces, 15,000 square feet of onsite retail, including cafés and restaurants, spacious accommodation for secure bicycle storage, and extensive shower and locker facilities.

• Step-free access is also available to all floors and we have introduced height adjustable worktops, wheelchair recesses and accessible amenities at refreshment points.

• The success of the project was driven by pre-leasing all office space to four different occupiers, along with the street-level retail space.

• The amenities on offer and sustainability credentials of Grainhouse, combined with its unique character, generated cross-sector appeal for the office space, with firms such as our own, making it Hines’ European HQ alongside an international fashion firm, and Go-City, a tourism company securing accommodation.

• On the street-level, F&B space became sought after with well-known London casual all-day dining restaurant, Caravan, taking their largest London unit to date.

A great building deserves a great story. Grainhouse delivers on that promise, and far more by bringing a flagship scheme with heart into the heart of central London.

Attending MIPIM 2024?
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Gallery Grainhouse - click to view full screen

Watch Barr Gazetas' Grainhouse film: