Turnmill
Derwent LondonMarrying timeless, beautiful tactility and pioneering sustainable design.
Turnmill
Derwent London
Overview
Turnmill sits on a prominent corner site in London's Clerkenwell Green Conservation Area. In deference to its unique location and historic site, the design team focused on sympathetic materials, a strong two-part form, and carefully crafted details. Its curved plan form is a direct response to the movement of people around the site, which anticipated an increased intensity with the opening of Farringdon Crossrail station back in 2021.
Taking Clerkenwell’s quintessentially robust yet refined warehouses as a guiding template, the concept was inspired by Barbara Hepworth’s renowned sculpture Curved Form Delphi whose textured and articulated external skin reveals a pure white, carved form within.
Borrowing this contrasting tactility, we selected hand-made Roman format Petersen Tegl Kolumba bricks that create a horizontal rhythm across the façade and continues inside through the curved entrance at Turnmill Street, giving way to a palette of polished concrete, timber, and brass. The double-height reception space and glazed link above, break the building’s massing into two elements to preserve the fine urban grain of Clerkenwell. Meanwhile, the building's deep chamfered window reveals fan out across the building, optimising views out for the users and animating the façade, at the same time emphasising the solidity and texture of the Danish brick.
This attention to detail and craft is stitched through the project, which became an instant classic and a special addition to Derwent's portfolio. Ten years on, although regulations have changed encouraging buildings to achieve higher sustainability credentials, Turnmill remains one of the studio's earliest examples of sustainable-focused, considered design.
Details
- Client:
- Derwent London
- Location:
- Clerkenwell, London
- Type:
- Architecture, Workplace
- Gross Floor Area:
- 97,200 sqft
- Stage:
- Completed January 2015
Awards
- Civic Trust Award 2017
- RIBA Stirling Prize Mid-list 2016
- RIBA National Award 2016
- FX Awards 2016, UK Project of the Year
- Brick Award 2015, Best International & Worldwide Project
- Schueco Excellence Award 2015
- BD Office Architect of the Year Award 2016, highly commended
- RICS Commercial Building Award 2015, highly commended
- BCO Commercial Workplace Award 2016, shortlisted
- Blueprint Award 2015, Best non-public use project (commercial), shortlisted
Related News
-
Turnmill Wins Civic Trust Award 201713th March
-
RIBA National Award Win23rd June
-
RIBA London Award Win4th May
-
Winners of Best International & Worldwide Project 201519th November
-
Unveiling Turnmill21st May
-
2017 Civic Trust Award Regional Finalist2nd November
-
Stuart Piercy at BDA's Brick Works!16th June
Project Team
- Jackson Coles, Project Manager
- AKT II, Structural Engineer
- AECOM, Services Engineer
- AECOM, Cost Consultant
- Montresor Partnership LLP, Façade Engineer
- Gerald Eve, Planning Consultant
- Arup, Specialist Brickwork Consultant
- Veretec, Contractors Architect
- McLaren Construction, Main Contractor
Credits
- Hufton + Crow, Photographer
- Sophie Bowness (Hepworth Estate), Photographer
- Jack Hobhouse, Photographer