RSHP submits plans for redevelopment of Thames Wharf Studios
17 March 2015
Following the announcement of the practice’s move to The Leadenhall Building, RSHP has submitted plans for the £35 million redevelopment of its riverside offices Thames Wharf Studios in Hammersmith that have been its home for more than 30 years.
Developer London & Regional Properties has commissioned RSHP to design a predominantly residential development of 57 apartments with office and studio space at ground-floor. The scheme retains the early-20th Century Thames Wharf warehouses, one of which is home to the River Café founded in 1987. The restaurant will remain open throughout the construction work.
Office space within the Wharf buildings along Rainville Road (above the restaurant) will be converted into 17 apartments of affordable accommodation and the other 40 apartments will be in two new blocks replacing the main RSHP office building – originally a 1950s Duckham’s oil storage facility – and another building facing it across the central communal garden.
The distinctive shape of the barrel vault roof designed by Lifschutz Davidson and completed in 1991 will be evoked in the design of both of the new apartment blocks. The garden will be extended into what is currently a car park, with all cars moved into a new underground parking area. Public access through this area to the river will be retained.