The building sits at the heart of London's vibrant and multicultural East End. In its History, the building has made; umbrella cases, lampshades and was used as a cloak workshop. Despite a restrictive budget, it was of paramount importance to deliver a design which communicated both the building and the area’s characteristics. We entirely reconfigured and refurbished the existing building and created two new floors for 4 double height penthouses. The new top two floors tangibly contrast and protects the older building. We took a simple but symbolic detail from the historic fabric, the Crittal window panes which appear to transition from the original fabric of the building, changing in scale and geometry as the window panes ‘drift’ up across the surface of the new top floor envelope, finally breaking free, blending and disappearing into the light of the skyline. Our team utilised an innovative concept and design which allowed us to achieve increased height in a low-rise area of Whitechapel. Formerly a negative contribution to the streetscape, the repurposed factory provides investment and new housing for the area.