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SPPARC – the London architecture studio behind the £1.3 billion regeneration of Olympia – has completed Greycoat Stores, a workspace-led restoration of one of the Army & Navy Cooperative’s Victorian-era warehouses in Westminster.

Located just south of Victoria Street on a prominent junction, the 90,000 sq ft mixed-use scheme at 10 Greycoat Place spans seven storeys. This includes two new floors of penthouse workspace overlooking the Palace of Westminster, as well as 5,000 sq ft of leisure and retail at lower ground and ground level and a 4,000 sq ft restaurant.

First built in the 1890s, 10 Greycoat Place was one of several warehouses across Westminster commissioned in the late 19th century by the Army & Navy, a department store group that began life as a cooperative society supplying goods to military officers and their families. Originally designed by architect Sir Reginald Blomfield, best known for his renovations of country houses including Chequers, the warehouse was primarily used for grocery storage and order fulfilment before it was converted into offices in the 1950s.

SPPARC has revived the building’s Victorian charm and attention to detail that was lost to renovation works in 1959. This includes reintroducing a distinctive red brick façade inspired by the 19th century original, with the building’s principal elevation hidden for over 60 years by a 1950s cement render. Inside, SPPARC’s exposed original steel beams and brickwork nod to the site’s warehouse heritage, creating an industrial feel.

Standout features include new double-height oval windows with finely detailed bronze frames that span the first to fourth storeys, allowing occupiers to benefit from abundant natural light. Circular windows on the fifth storey, meanwhile, demarcate a new zinc and glass roof extension housing the two penthouse workspaces across the sixth and seventh storeys. Stepped piers terminate as refurbished granite Doric columns at the ground level. Inside, curved timber sculptures create a warm, welcoming entrance to the reception area, where the arched brickwork of the lift lobby continues the ornate pattern of the building’s exterior.

As well as other Army & Navy premises, Greycoat Stores’ surrounding landscape includes the Grade II*-listed Westminster College and the Church of St Stephen. SPPARC’s sensitive restoration has reinstated the building’s relationship to this nearby heritage architecture, including through its use of fine brickwork detailing and craftsmanship.

The BREEAM Excellent and WiredScore Platinum scheme retained over 80% of the building’s heritage materials, including the original internal primary steel and brickwork structure in their entirety. This achieved an overall 50% carbon emissions reduction compared to a rebuild. The all-electric building’s windows maximise natural light, reducing energy consumption in operation.

The project draws on SPPARC’s in-depth experience with London’s heritage architecture, which includes the co-design of the £1.3 billion regeneration of Olympia on behalf of Yoo Capital. This will create a wider cultural district centred around the historic exhibition hall. Set to complete in late 2025, it will feature a theatre, music venue, two hotels, flexible offices, over 2.5 acres of public realm, and a BRIT School-backed performing arts school. SPPARC was also behind Borough Yards, the £300 million shopping, dining and cultural district under the Victorian railway arches next to Borough Market. Opened in 2021, the project revives a lost medieval street pattern.

Trevor Morriss, Principal at SPPARC, said: “This former warehouse has sat as a shadow of its former self for over six decades with restoration works in the 1950s stripping it of its historic visual relationship to wider Westminster, including the distinctive style of Army & Navy premises. Drawing on extensive research of both the building’s own architectural history and the area’s rich surrounding heritage landscape, our sensitive, yet ambitious restoration will allow Greycoat Stores to stand as a focal point on this important Westminster junction once again, creating seven storeys of innovative workspace and publicly accessible retail and leisure space that is fit for the modern age.”