BARKERS OF KENSINGTON EXHIBITION BOARDS

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON WELCOME Welcome to our public exhibition. The owners of Barkers of Kensington are seeking bring forward plans to reimagine the interior of this iconic building. Our redevelopment ideas will provide a range of improvements internally, offer new terrace finishes at roof level, and create more modern and welcoming entrances.

Ahead of submitting a Planning Application to the Royal Borough of Kensington & Chelsea we are seeking the views of the local community on our plans. Have a look at the board on display at this exhibition and then have your say either by completing a form here today or via our survey online.

The existing office accommodation within the building is no longer fit for purpose to meet the needs of modern office occupiers. The proposals for Barkers of Kensington seek to sensitively reimagine the internal layouts, using a retrofit first approach, reusing, repurposing and recycling where possible.

There will be extensive enhancements made at basement, ground floor and roof level that will be respectful of the historical significance of the building. These proposals seek to start a sustainable new chapter in the history of the landmark department store.

The key changes we are looking to make are: • Make the atrium the heart of the building • Create bright and welcoming entrances • Provide modern, accessible office space, suitable for future occupiers • Offer landscaped outdoor spaces for future tenants at roof level, supporting wellbeing • Improve the uses at basement level to provide cycle spaces and a new multi-functional events space • Employ a retrofit-first approach, ensuring the works are sustainable • Bring a historical, landmark building back into use and secure it for the future.

Please scan the QR code to visit our survey and have your say.

Construction Traffic Management Plan We are also seeking the views of the local community on the proposed Construction Traffic Management Plan (CTMP). A CTMP is a plan designed to minimise the impact of construction, outlines site activity and the transport arrangements for vehicles servicing the site.

There are hard copies of the CTMP available at this exhibition for you to view. Alternatively, you can view the plan online at barkersofkensington.co.uk

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON THE BARKERS BUILDING Barkers of Kensington has a rich and extensive history as one of the premier shopping destinations on Kensington High Street, with the first shop at the site opening in 1870.

The current building is a Grade II listed former department store built in 1937-38 by Bernard George and completed in 1958, following bomb damage to the site during the Second World War, and currently has a footprint of 7,680 square metres. It is outlined in red on the map to the right.

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View from Kensington High Street

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The building is seven storeys in height, with the top two storeys set back. The site has frontages to High Street Kensington to the north; Young Street to the east; Derry Street to the west and Kensington Gardens to the south.

The main entrance of the building fronts onto Kensington High Street, one of the most popular streets for shopping in west London.

The highly recognisable art deco building can be seen from key local areas, including the western edge of Hyde Park, Kensington Church Street, St Mary Abbots Church and Kensington Square Gardens, which lies to the south of the site.

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The site

View from Kensington Square

View from Kensington Church Street

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

View from Kensington Gardens

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON HISTORY Barkers of Kensington has a rich and extensive history as one of the premier shopping destinations on Kensington High Street, with the first shop at the site opening in 1870.

The maps and images below show the evolution of the building from 1869 onwards.

Timeline

1869

1895

1914

c. 1930s

1980s

Shop frontage part of original alignment adjoining Kensington High Street

Significant expansion of Barkers trading north of Ball Street

Closure of Fire Brigade Station for further expansion

Closure of Ball Street & construction of western half of Barkers rear building

Redevelopment of Barkers into offices with retail at ground and first floor

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON EXISTING BUILDING Existing site

Existing entrances

As we have outlined, the building has undergone a series of changes in its 130year history. Most recently, the building was substantially modified internally during the 1980s to include a central glazed atrium space and a new barrel-vaulted glazed roof to this atrium. Glazed curtain walling was also added to the rear facade upper floors during the renovations and this part the site is now known as “Northcliffe House”.

The existing reception areas provide separate accesses into the upper floors within the building and provide limited accessibility throughout. The accessibility is poor, with dated escalators, dark and enclosed reception areas with limited natural light and no staircases.

Visitors to the building are met with an unwelcoming frontage and a heavy external façade. Our proposals seek to rectify these shortcomings by enlarging and improving the main entrances, to modernise the space and update the access into the rest of the building.

These renovations resulted in the current floorplan of the building. The ground, mezzanine and basement levels are currently occupied by several retail tenants, with the main retail tenant being Wholefoods. Further offices occupied by Associated Newspapers Limited on the upper floors.

The existing office floorspace is no longer fit for purpose and proposed to be upgraded to meet the needs of modern occupiers and to secure its long-term future.

Entrance on Kensington High Street

Northcliffe House

Dark, unwelcoming entrances

Roof Terrace

Service yard on Derry Street

Current Roof Terrace

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON EXISTING BUILDING Existing Atrium and Offices The atrium was constructed as part of the redevelopment of the Barkers building in the 1980s and provides access into the building via Derry Street. The finishes within the atrium are dated and whilst there is some landscaping, it is fairly limited and of a poor quality.

Access to the existing office space is confusing and the internal layout is not easy to navigate. Many of the offices do benefit from a dual aspect of both the atrium and the external façade, but they have limited

Basement Level Car Parking connectivity to the rest of the building.

Our vision is to modernise these spaces to improve access into the office floorspace for future tenants.

The building benefits from good floor to ceiling heights that contribute to the light and calm feeling of the atrium. Our proposals will harness this key attribute and make it a more important internal feature, making the atrium the heart of the building.

The existing car parking is split over basement-2 and basement-1 with 150 parking spaces. The cycle parking is located around the basement in an informal and inefficient fashion and behind parking bays, with 169 spaces in total.

The basement, currently in use as a car park, has wonderful floor to ceiling heights and could be used for a wide range of other functions.

By refurbishing the internal fabric of the building, we can provide more modern and efficient cycle parking, along with changing facilities and a gym area.

Existing atrium

Existing office space

Current underground parking

Existing office space

Internal landscaping

Basement car and cycle parking

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

Access to underground parking

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON OPPORTUNITIES AND DESIGN IDEAS We have examined the existing building and assessed the constraints both internally and externally. The next step has been to devise a series of design ideas that have guided our proposals for the Barkers Building. These ideas are at the core of what we are looking to achieve at this historic location and outline our ambitions.

Purpose

“Parti”

Circulation

Arrival

Reestablish the atrium as the heart of the building

Coherent building navigation and unifying space

Rationalise the circulation and increase connectivity between the atrium and the office floorplates

Increasing the size of the entrances and enhancing connectivity to the atrium with the staircases

Wellbeing

“Oh-Hello”

Repurposed Basement

End of Journey

Atrium staircases encourage people to be healthy and use the space for social activity

Activate the roof terraces for office amenity space

Removal of executive car parking in Basement Level 1 to be used as an ancillary space for the offices

Reduction of car parking at Basement Level 2 and dedicated end of journey facilities

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON A NEW ATRIUM A key component of our proposals for the new interior of the Barkers building is to re-establish the atrium as the heart of the building. The current layout is such that the upper floors are disconnected; the refurbishment of the building presents an opportunity to address this layout and make it easier to move through the building. The proposals seek to improve access at ground through utilising the existing entrance from Derry Street and Young Street for all office users whilst also providing connections inside the building through the introduction of walkways in the atrium space. It will be a bright and welcoming space with natural light to support the wellbeing of new employees and occupiers of the building.

New atrium view 1

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON A NEW ATRIUM

New atrium view 2

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON ROOF LEVEL As part of the proposals, we are also seeking to improve the existing outdoor space at roof level, including the provision of ancillary and dining space for building occupiers.

Our proposals for the roof terraces will look to promote and improve ecology and biodiversity.

Including the provision of planting and extensive greenery to create a peaceful setting.

Access at roof level will be restricted to the frontage along Kensington High Street and part of the existing terrace along Derry Street and Young Street. There will be no access, except for maintenance to the rear of the building.

The roof lanterns are the iconic features of the listed building, capturing the spirit of the era in which they were built. The lanterns are currently used as boiler rooms and other plant equipment.

We plan to bring new life to the lanterns by removing the existing plant facilities and creating high-quality dining spaces that can be used in connection with the roof café, which will only be available for use by the building tenants.

Before

After

A new louvred screen will hide the plant equipment at roof level and the design will draw on the art deco features of the original building. The height of this screen will be kept below the shoulders of the two lantern towers, following feedback received.

Roof café elevation

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON ROOF LEVEL

• Existing roof lanterns to be repurposed as additional dining spaces • Existing plant located within the lanterns to be removed

• New landscaping on terraces at 5th and 6th floor level

• Communal Roof Terrace for all tenants of the building to use • Existing plant pipework to be removed and terraces relandscaped • Existing plant screen louvres to be replaced with glazed doors to terraces • Existing plant screen to be enclosed to form canteen space for office occupants • Existing plant screen added at roof level to obscure double stacked plant equipment behind • Plant screen is set back from the main building line

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON EXTERNAL IMPROVEMENTS Whilst the proposals concentrate on changes to the internal layout of the building, we are also seeking to make improvements to the external appearance of the building.

On Kensington High Street, the existing inset fire escape will be infilled with will be infilled with anodized bronze glazed doors to provide a consistent appearance and building line, which will enhance the quality and appearance of the street edge in this location.

The existing wrought iron gates to the service yard on Young Street allow unsightly views through into the service yard. We plan to fit solid panelled gates to provide separation between the service yard and the street.

The vehicular entrance towards the southern end of the frontage will be decluttered and tidied up. The new gates and louvers will be in a bronze finish and the louvres set back- providing a high-quality cohesive appearance to these areas.

Derry Street reception

This includes the introduction of new bronze, glazed doors at the front of the building which is currently used as a fire escape, whilst also introducing solid panelled gates to the service yard.

On the side of the building that fronts onto Derry Street, our proposals will reinstate windows that match the original design, enhancing the frontage of the building.

These proposals are considered to improve the visual appearance of the building and enhance its historic setting.

There will also be improvements made to the current pedestrian gate, which will be replaced with a fobbed cyclist gate that will link safely and easily to the bike store.

Our plans will also introduce a new fobbed vehicle gate to replace the existing one.

Derry Street entrance

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON IMPROVED FACILITIES One of the underused parts of the building is the space at basement level, which is currently being used as a car park and informal cycle parking provision. To improve this part of the building, we are providing a new, dedicated end-of-journey facility. This will include secure cycle parking, showers, lockers and maintenance areas, to encourage the use of sustainable transport. There will also be gym provided on site. Cyclists will be able to access these facilities via a fobbed cycle gate and ramp; a lift will then take tenants up into the atrium of the building. In addition, part of the basement floorspace will be reconfigured as a new ancillary office space for tenants in the building. This will be located in the existing basement car park, which has good floor to ceiling heights. The space will be designed to be flexible so it can accommodate a range of functions such as networking events or film screenings for office tenants.

Cycle storage

Fold up bike lockers

Two tier bike storage

Gym facilities

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON KEY BENEFITS

A retrofit approach, reusing, repurposing and recycling where possible, taking a sustainable approach

Protection and repair of a key heritage asset

New flexible use opportunity space for building occupants and improved workplace arrival experience

High performing and environmentally sustainable building with new efficient centralised building services solution and reduction in carbon footprint

BREEAM “Excellent” and WELL “Enabled”

Landscaping and enhanced biodiversity of terrace

External improvements benefitting the view from the street

Supporting the long-term future use of the building

Inclusive, flexible and efficient floorplates for a contemporary and diverse workforce

Reduction of car parking and increase of cycle parking encouraging sustainable travel

Barkers main building

Fourth floor terrace

Changing rooms

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk

New, welcoming entrance

BARKERS OF KENSINGTON THANK YOU Thank you for taking the time to review our proposals for the Barkers Building. The Barkers Building of Kensington has a long and illustrious history, and these proposals seek to start the next chapter in the history of the landmark department store.

We have outlined our ambitions for the buildings, including a new, modern interior, improved internal facilities and landscaped, restful terraces at roof level.

We welcome your feedback and encourage you to share your views on our ideas. You can do so by completing a form available today or visiting the website and completing a survey online at: barkersofkensington.co.uk/have-your-say.

We will continue to engage with the community through the planning process as we progress to a submission to the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the new year. If you would like to get in touch with the project team, please do so using the details below:

Please scan the QR code to visit our survey and have your say.

E. ibath@conciliocomms.com T. 0800 774 7638

www.barkersofkensington.co.uk