A comprehensive office retrofit and extension of three adjoining Grade II listed buildings in Spitalfields, London to deliver over 9,300 sq.ft of first in class workspace for Freefolk, a leading visual effects company. Our approach has been to celebrate and enhance the architectural character of both the 18th and 20th-century buildings on site. The scheme provided an opportunity to improve the energy performance of the buildings whilst balancing requirements for sensitivity to the historic building fabric. Original features within the earlier buildings have been reinstated where possible, while emphasising the lighter, more open and contemporary nature of the 1960s light-industrial building to the rear. In doing so, the distinct character of each part is revealed. The new glazed glulam frame interfaces with both 18th and 20th-century building fabric, tying the two together and creating the next, 21st-century chapter in the story of this layered site.