Recognition for conservation and retrofit excellence

The £15 million restoration and conversion of Wallis House, a 1930s Grade II* listed building, has won the Conservation and Retrofit award in the New London Awards 2012.

The awards are organised by London’s Centre for the Built Environment and recognise the best projects in the capital in terms of architecture, planning and development.

Assael Architecture designed the scheme to convert the ten-storey Art Deco building in Brentford, West London, from its former industrial use to a residential and office complex for Barratt London. It features 111 private apartments, 1700 sq m of offices and a 1500 sq m health club, as well as two landscaped courtyards.

Assael’s scheme for Wallis House, located on the Great Western Road, perfectly preserves the structure, which was designed by Wallis Gilbert and Partners – also responsible for designing the Hoover Building and Victoria Bus Station - between 1936 and 1942. It also restores important features such as the original format of the windows and the shoulders and wings of the building.

Wallis House is the centrepiece of the Great West Quarter, a five-hectare, £210 million wider regeneration scheme. The Great West Quarter is a striking, vibrant, new place to live, featuring a central piazza which is more than an acre in size, 773 homes and amenities including restaurants, a bar, a health club, an art gallery, a crèche, a hotel and serviced apartments.

John Assael, Managing Director at Assael, said: “We are passionate about safeguarding important heritage buildings like Wallis House for future generations, bringing them back into the heart of communities, and are delighted that this work has been recognised by the New London Architecture Awards. The conversion of Wallis House turned a rundown building into a viable, commercial proposition while also importantly restoring it to its former glory.”

Wallis House received support from English Heritage, the 20th Century Society and the London Borough of Hounslow.