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FIRST LOOK
3 September 2021
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The former Hand and Flower pub on the King’s Road in Chelsea has been restored and extended by Paul Murphy Architects (PMA) to create a 1,020m² mixed-use development
PMA was commissioned to inherit an existing consent for the site on the corner of King’s Road and Edith Grove. Planning permission for the redevelopment of a neighbouring site to the rear was subsequently granted.
The redevelopment includes a mix of units, living accommodation and additional amenity space. The façade of the existing pub building was retained and interior layout modified to provide five new apartments with retail use at ground and basement level.
In a dialogue between old and new, the form of the scheme has been informed by its immediate context. The existing has been restored while the new brick extension is tapered in plan in response to the street pattern.
The rear façade is faceted, creating stepped roof terraces. A glazed link articulates the junction between old and new and encloses a new timber-clad steel stair.
The wider area is also undergoing significant change as the former 16-acre gasworks site to the south is being redeveloped by Berkeley Group and the National Grid to create 1,800 new homes, due to complete in 2022.
We see the Hand and Flower scheme as a successful piece of city repair. The project is representative of the kind we like to undertake at PMA: complex sites, tricky planning issues, working sensitively with existing buildings and trying to maximise the potential of the site or building through thoughtful and intelligent design.
The principal challenge we and the design team faced was delivering the project while simultaneously balancing a range of issues. First, a series of new planning applications was prepared, covering various changes to the consented scheme. Second, the client was keen to start construction as soon as possible, and so the detail design for the existing building was prioritised. And third, the detail design was prepared for the new build element in tandem, anticipating consent for the various changes.
The overlapping nature of the project meant that a traditionally procured contract was not viable and so the project was procured via a quasi-management contract, with subcontract packages tendered or negotiated via the client’s representative and the main contractor.
Like all good retrofit projects, Hand and Flower is heavily informed by its immediate context and a design that celebrates the dynamic between old and new. Our material choices for elements purposefully referenced and aimed to blend in with that heritage and adjacent surroundings, yet also highlighted the split through use of a glazed façade, steel frames and slim Danish bricks.
Paul Murphy, director, Paul Murphy Architects
Having previously worked with Paul Murphy Architects on the conversion, extension and refurbishment of Brentford Magistrates’ Court, we appointed PMA for Hand and Flower, another mixed-use scheme, as we knew they had the skills and design expertise to succeed again.
Juggling the on-site renovation of the existing buildings with the delivery of new build elements was no small task but PMA’s level of detail and professionalism was consistent and inspiring throughout. Their work really maximised the value and quality of every part of the development and we are thrilled with how Hand and Flower has turned out, as are the new residents of the apartments.
Client representative
Completion 2021
Gross internal floor area 1,020m²
Construction cost Undisclosed
Architect Paul Murphy Architects
Client AMDR
Structural engineer Coyle Kennedy
M&E consultant Dee Environmental Services
Planning consultant Nicholas Taylor Associates
Party wall consultant JMA
Main contractor Martem Building Services
Acoustic consultant Sandy Brown
Fire consultant MLM
Approved inspector MLM
Annual mains water consumption 40.21 m³/occupant
Airtightness at 50Pa 10m³/h.m
Heating and hot water load 192.87 kWh/m²/yr
Overall area-weighted U-value 0.331 W/m2K
Design life 25 years
Embodied/whole-life carbon Not supplied
Annual CO2 emissions 52.075 kgCO2eq/m2
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