The Reimagining of a Brutalist Icon

Grade II-listed Space House in Covent Garden is transformed into a sustainable, flexible workplace while preserving its landmark 1960s architecture.

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

Squire & Partners has completed a major refurbishment and extension of Space House, the iconic Grade II-listed Brutalist complex in Covent Garden, delivering 255,000 sq ft of contemporary workspace alongside retail and improved public realm. Commissioned by Seaforth Land and QuadReal, the project repositions one of London’s most distinctive postwar commercial buildings for modern use while carefully restoring its original architectural intent.

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

Designed in the 1960s by Richard Seifert and Partners, Space House is defined by its cylindrical tower with a pre-cast cruciform façade set on Y-shaped columns, paired with a rectilinear block and sky bridge. Built in 1968 and occupied for decades by the Civil Aviation Authority, the building had accumulated multiple layers of refurbishment. Squire & Partners’ approach strips back these later interventions to reveal and celebrate the original structure, while introducing complementary additions suited to contemporary working patterns.

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

The retrofit adds two office floors to the tower—now 17 storeys high—and a single-storey extension to the block. The tower’s rooftop has been rationalised to reinstate a clean, set-back top floor and to create a 3,600 sq ft roof terrace. In the block, a new eighth floor accommodates shared meeting spaces and a tenants’ clubhouse with a bar and a 5,000 sq ft terrace.

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

Internally, the design prioritises openness and daylight. The tower offers 10,000 sq ft circular, column-free floorplates with panoramic city views, while the block provides eight levels of 8,000 sq ft workspaces. A sky bridge links the buildings to create continuous office space and access to a garden terrace. Loft-style interiors, long sightlines, and robust material finishes reinforce a sense of egalitarian, collaborative working.

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

Photo credit: Gareth Gardner

The project also reimagines the building’s car-centric infrastructure. Former vehicle ramps and parking areas have been repurposed for cycling, with storage for 600 bikes and extensive end-of-journey facilities, while a new double-height basement venue provides flexible event space.

Sustainability is central to the transformation. Space House is now the largest Grade II-listed building in the UK to achieve BREEAM ‘Outstanding’, supported by air source heat pumps, high-performance building services, and fabric upgrades. Enhanced public spaces, including the conversion of a former petrol station canopy into a street-level café, reconnect the complex with its urban context.

The refurbishment demonstrates how Brutalist heritage can be adapted for the future—extending the life of a landmark while setting new standards for sustainable, inclusive workplaces.

Squire & Partners 

Squire & Partners is an architecture and design practice with experience spanning four decades, earning it an international reputation for architecture informed by the history and culture of where it is placed. From large-scale urban masterplans to small bespoke fitouts, they embrace traditional and emerging technologies in craft and construction to deliver a rigorously detailed product.

The practice's award-winning portfolio, for some of the world’s leading developers, includes both new build and retrofit workspace, residential, hotels, and retail, as well as masterplans, education, and public buildings.