Angel Square reinvents a prominent corner site in Islington, north London. The mixed-use office led development incorporates new active frontages, builds over an existing underground station and repositions a public house while retaining the existing concrete structure.

The new significantly redeveloped building retains the reinforced concrete frame and basement of the early 90s postmodern office block, saving a significant amount of embodied carbon. The existing building’s internal structural grid has also informed a facade design of articulated solid columns and ledges, supplemented by profiled metal spandrel panels and the use of glazed terracotta and pre-cast concrete elements at ground floor. The building’s material palette has taken cues from its context and neighbouring buildings’ character, with material tones and colours of the profiled metal spandrels influenced by a detailed analysis of the context, and varied according to the building’s elevation.

At ground level the building is pulled back to increase pavement widths and routes around the building, particularly to the Islington High Street and City Road junction, and along the High Street where a newly created office lobby and café creates an engaging and accessible entry to the building. A new public street is also introduced to the north of the site linking Islington High Street to Torrens Street to further increase the permeability of the site. Balconies and terraces have been marked with a planted balustrade to soften the building’s roofline and positively contribute to the building’s urban greenery.

The proposal provides over 290,000 sq.ft (GIA) of space with a varied mix of uses including significant best-in-class employment space and affordable workspace providing exemplary, flexible working environments with low operational energy demands and suitable for a variety of tenant sizes.

Location
Islington, London
Client
Tishman Speyer