Charles Clore House Wins Royal Institute of British Architects Award

The Institute of Advanced Legal Studies is pleased to announce that the IALS Library Transformation Project, which was under the direction of Burwell Architects, has been awarded a London Regional Award by the Royal Institute of British Architects. 

The jury praised the sensitive vision of the project:

The architect invested much care and attention to ensure legibility between the old and the new, but finely tuned so that the new elements do not contrast or compete with the original architecture. This is evident in the slightly offset relationship where new partitions meet the existing concrete structures, the colour matching of the new secondary glazing to the original glazing frames, and the choice of floor finishes. The result is a visually coherent design with well-enjoyed spaces.

The jury felt that this project was a true labour of love, conducted by a team that quite selflessly undertook much careful research to ascertain the specific architectural language they were dealing with, and that did all it could to minimise the impact of its own decisions on the original design. The project was conducted over four phases of operation, one floor at a time, allowing the library to function on two floors throughout the entire construction period.

The Director of the Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Professor Carl Stychin, commented:

‘The award recognises the outstanding results of the Transformation Project. Charles Clore House has always been a building of great architectural importance, as designed by Sir Denys Lasdun. Burwell Architects succeeded in a refurbishment which is true to the original vision while meeting the needs of users in the future. On behalf of everyone at the Institute, I congratulate Burwell Architects on this success. 

Further information on the RIBA Award can be found at: Institute of Advanced Legal Studies, Holborn, by Burwell Architects | RIBAJ.