TOG launches a major landmark in its London portfolio: Chancery House – a revitalised and retrofitted eight-storey heritage building in London’s vibrant Midtown. Set atop the London Silver Vaults – the capital’s historic subterranean silver market – Chancery House is the flexible-workspace specialist’s largest building to date: a 125,000 sq ft sustainability-led workspace that prioritises flexibility and wellbeing.
Warm wooden accents by Norm Architects create a connection to nature and a sense of serenity. Photography by Jake Curtis.
Working on their ninth project with The Office Group, dMFK Architects have refurbished, reconfigured and extended the original building, collaborating with Copenhagen-based Norm Architects to deliver the interior concept.
Revitalising a London landmark
Stately and imposing, even among the ornate architecture of the surrounding Inns of Court, Chancery House was first built as the Chancery Lane Safe Deposit along with the Silver Vaults in 1885. Levelled by a bomb in World War II, Chancery House was rebuilt in 1953, providing offices for businesses looking for a well-located Midtown workspace.
The building’s enlarged entrance on Chancery Lane visually references the London Silver Vaults below. Photography by Jake Curtis.
Acquiring the freehold in 2019, The Office Group set out to consolidate the design language of the exterior to be truer to the original architecture; open up the poorly connected spaces; revitalise the dated interiors; and create a versatile, considered set of workspaces that prioritise user wellbeing and make sustainability a core principle of the design approach.
“Our first instinct is to refurbish and reposition existing buildings where we can. We’re always ambitious with each project and the scale of Chancery House presented a wonderful opportunity to create a building that is beautiful and has an exceptional range of amenities. Full of challenges along the way, it needed a true collaboration with dMFK Architects and Norm, both of whom were closely aligned to our vision.”
– Sophie Werren, lead architect, The Office Group
dMFK Architects reconfigured the ground-floor structure for improved flow, and lowered the sills on the façade to improve the building’s visual relationship with the street. An enlarged main entrance on to Chancery Lane gives Chancery House a stronger sense of occasion when arriving and departing. A dramatic metallic frame reminiscent of vault doors draws inspiration from the Silver Vaults below.
“By opening up the building and enhancing its relationship with its context, we were able to create interesting views to green spaces, bring natural light into the interior and lower floors with carefully planned courtyards and lightwells, and give the building a new lease on life. The result is calm, considered and people-centric – it embodies everything that The Office Group and dMFK Architects believe in.”
– Ben Knight, Director, dMFK Architects
