Cleaver Street

Sensitive repurposing of the Grade II listed Lambeth County Courthouse in Kennington to provide characterful new homes and neighbourhood workspace.

Client Lucrum Holdings & The Duchy of Cornwall
Sector Workplace
Size 1,986m²
Location Kennington, London

Tapping into our experience with complex heritage assets, we were commissioned by the Duchy of Cornwall and Lucrum Holdings to sensitively breathe new life into the Grade II listed former Lambeth County Court.

Opened in 1928 and decommissioned in 2017, the Art Deco influenced courthouse sits within the Kennington Conservation Area and close to historic Cleaver Square.

Our proposals aim to extend the lifespan of the building by retaining and carefully extending the original courthouse to provide two flexible neighbourhood workspaces at ground level.

Nine apartments are housed within the restored upper floor and a discrete single storey extension set back from the original façade.

Creating an inclusive neighbourhood asset

By distinguishing a central entry point for workspaces and apartments, the Art Deco grandeur of the former courthouse is returned to the community.

The central courthouse entrance on Cleaver Street will serve as the reception area for both workspace and apartments, carefully refurbished to retain the unique character of original Art Deco elements including a feature terrazzo stair and glazed skylight.

Two workspaces for local businesses span the full depth of the building, each with a landscaped garden courtyard, cycle storage, changing rooms and showers.

Apartments are created on two upper levels, with layouts designed to repurpose historic court spaces and provide balconies or roof terraces, each carefully positioned to have minimal impact on neighbouring houses.

Designed as a sustainable retrofit development, the building features all-electric heating and hot water via heat pumps, secure cycle storage and 100m² of photovoltaics at roof level generating 5% of operational energy on-site. The workspaces are predicted to achieve BREEAM Excellent.

The re-purposing of Cleaver Street courthouse will extend the lifespan of the Art Deco inspired heritage building and give it renewed relevance for the Kennington community.