A contemporary new-build extension to the Grade I listed Stratford House, a landmark historical building which is home to The Oriental Club, a vibrant private members’ club, open to both men and women established in 1824. The sensitive external form is sympathetic to the original Robert Adam design, whilst offering a modern twist to the building. Reclaimed materials and fabrics with high recycled content, have been used where possible and have been selected for their longevity, low embodied energy and future recyclability. Many of the architectural elements are A+ rated by the BRE Green Guide. The 5-storey insertion provides much enhanced facilities for staff and guests, including new and upgraded accommodation, reworked back of house facilities and office space. The Brief: The Oriental Club was founded in 1824 by Sir John Malcolm with the Duke of Wellington as Honorary President and members drawn from the East India Company and officials in public service in India. Strong Oriental connections are still the binding force among Club Members today. Stratford House, a Grade I Listed building, has been the Club’s home since 1962 and is the centrepiece of a Richard Edwin design, built by Edward Stratford between 1770 and 1776. Consarc Architects were appointed by the Oriental Club to undertake a feasibility study on the rear lightwell, situated to the northwest corner of Stratford House. A significant proportion of the lightwell was occupied by a two-storey building dating back to 1908, originally staff quarters, referred to as ‘The Cottage’. Consarc’s study of the site proposed that The Cottage be replaced with a new build five-storey infill to contain much enhanced staff and member facilities. In addition to the new build element, reconfiguration and upgrading of parts of the existing building would also be undertaken. Overall, the works would provide: Eight guest bedrooms Improved public sanitary facilities Disabled toilets Accessible guest bathrooms New and upgraded staff accommodation Reworked back of house facilities Office space The Site and Surrounding Area: Stratford House is situated within the Stratford Place Conservation Area, and closely bounded by the Harley Street Conservation Area. The surrounding buildings vary in use and architectural style, but include Georgian and Victorian architecture with shallow pitched roofs set back behind parapet walls, facades of brickwork punctured at regular intervals with large glazed doors and windows, subdivided by fine framing and proportion. The site of the extension itself is within an existing Victorian lightwell, surrounded by flank walls on all sides. Following early feasibility studies, a number of consultations took place with the Local Authorities, English Heritage and neighbours. The outcome of all of these consultations were incorporated into the design proposals and were reflected in the final product. The Design: Consarc’s design adopts a contemporary form, paying particular regard to scale, quality and context. It sits recessed in plan and vertical aspect, avoiding dominance over neighbouring elevations. By use of a consistent external walling material of London stock bricks and careful positioning of roof level plant the potential visual loss of the original gap is carefully, but respectfully exploited. A saw tooth plan form on the upper floors ensures daylight provision and an external aspect for the guest rooms. To address issues of appropriate scale, the exposed facade reinforces the verticality of the adjacent fenestrations by using full height glazing slots. However, with the addition of the stepped form in plan, it remains subservient in scale to the adjacent elevations, particularly at the roofline. Materials: Material selection for the exterior needed to consider both sustainability aspirations and the architectural character defined by the area. Where possible, given the sensitivities of the listed building status, the final selection has been assessed against architectural properties including context, scale, longevity as well as factors such as low embodied energy, readily recyclable, materials fabricated with high recycled content or reclaimed materials. The majority of the main structural, infilling and cladding architectural elements obtain A+ ratings, as assessed by the BRE Green Guide. This includes the use of timber and floor roof framing throughout, the external wall cladding formed by metric sized new London stock bricks laid to a Flemish bond, a lime based mortar and a brown, bio-diverse roof. The frame to the new building is steel, with a high recycled content.