Project overview
London
Eldridge won an invited competition to design the new 15,000 sq ft headquarters of diamond dealers E Oppenheimer and Son in Holborn, London. An old bank dating from the 1950s, the building offered a labyrinth of spaces, and the winning design strategy involved remodelling the interior by opening up the environment, making sure that it expressed the personality of its occupants.
This improved the efficiency of the floorplates, creating contemporary, naturally lit offices around a new glazed atrium.
By relocating the main entrance, introducing a glass bridge and glass fronted lift, enlarging the ground floor windows onto Charterhouse Street, cladding the façade with limestone at ground floor level and making improvements to the exterior landscaping and setting of the building, we were able to enhance and personalise the public face of the firm’s corporate environment.
This process is an holistic one, extending to offices and meeting rooms which are glass fronted to provide daylight within the depth of the floor plan and to the circulation areas. Interior fixtures and furniture have been designed by the practice. These are framed in stainless steel with walnut work surfaces and burnished lacquer storage units.
A new extension to the building at roof level provides an enclosure for plant and a glazed link to the adjacent building and helipad.
