SDPS Parker Street, Holborn

The brief for 32 Parker Street was to rationalise the layout of the building and create a bright high quality open plan office space. The design exposed the existing steel frame and combined this with a warm timber floor and steel framed glazed doors to create a light, warm space that retains the industrial feel of the original building.

The site is located on the border within Sub-area 3 of the Seven Dials Conservation Area, north east of the conservation area around Macklin Street. Drury Lane is located south of the site and is one of the oldest roads in Covent Garden, possibly dating back to the Saxon settlement of Lundenwic. In the 17th Century, the Covent Garden area was urbanised and it is believed Parker Street was formed in the earlier half of the century. In 1886, the Medical Officer of Health recommended the area surrounding Parker Street should be cleared due to overcrowding and buildings beyond repair. The area was cleared in 1889 and following demolition, no housing developments were proposed and the inhabitants who had lived there were displaced. This building was likely originally used as a warehouse or studio and built shortly after the slum demolitions.