Fleet Place House is located on the south side of Holborn Viaduct in the City of London. The development replaces an existing office building and provides office space and ground floor retail facilities. Active rail lines pass beneath the site, thus restricting the placement of piles. The design responds to this and other physical and statutory constraints, resulting in a transparent building encased in distinctive, external structural columns.

Project Facts

Completion Year: 2000
Project Area: 9,000 m²
Building Height: 38 m
Number of Stories: 9

Located on the south side of Holborn Viaduct and at the northern end of Fleet Passage in the city of London, Fleet Place House is strategically positioned at the northern entry to the St Paul’s Thamleslink Rail Station. The development replaces an existing office building, and provides office space with retail activity at the ground floor.

The design specifically incorporates large, uninterrupted floor plates and generous floor-to-ceiling heights that meet Class A standards. Active rail lines pass beneath the site at an oblique angle, thus restricting the placement of piles and other works. The design responds to these and other physical and statutory constraints, resulting in a transparent building encased in distinctive, structural columns, which converge at the base to use existing foundations where possible.

A key component of the scheme is the expression of a gateway on the northern elevation that reinforces the important pedestrian access to the Thameslink Station and Fleet Passage.

The design inflects the external wall inwards, creating a faceted indentation in the street wall that signals the gateway to passers-by, while also inviting them into the space beyond. Clear glass retail units to the west and a lobby entrance to the east are recessed from the north and south façades, emphasizing the building’s structural solution.