Brittania Lofts

,

London

(UK)

“Six penthouse apartments sitting above one of London's most restless neighbourhoods. Britannia Lofts is where an existing building gets a new life, and where the city becomes the view.”

Old Street has never stood still. It has been industrial, creative, broken down and rebuilt, and it carries all of that in its character. The building at its heart already had a history. Rather than start from scratch, Britannia Lofts adds a new chapter to it, six penthouse apartments rising above the existing structure, extending its life and giving it a purpose it never had before.

Retrofit is often framed as a practical necessity. Here it is treated as a creative opportunity. Remi C.T. Studio came to the project as delivery architects, leading development design and specification, working within the constraints of an existing building to create something that feels entirely new at the top.

The render tells you something important before any words do. A kitchen island in warm terracotta tile, pendant lights dropping from above, a dining table set for the evening, and beyond the full-width glazing, London stretching out in every direction. This is not a backdrop. It is the reason the apartment exists.

The design builds toward that view at every turn. The open-plan living, kitchen and dining level is arranged to draw the eye outward while keeping the interior warm and grounded. Materials are chosen for texture and longevity, pale timber underfoot, dark steel at the island, handmade tile that catches the light differently at every hour. Nothing is generic. Every finish has been specified to sit in this building, in this part of London, at this height.

Render of penthouse apartment with views towards the Barbican Centre.

Building on top of an existing structure asks different questions to starting from the ground. The loads, the interfaces, the relationship between old fabric and new intervention, these are the conditions that define the project before a single interior decision is made.

Six units, each one its own proposition. The work of delivery architecture is often invisible, which is how it should be. The junctions, the tolerances, the co-ordination of trades across a complex retrofit scheme, these are the things that determine whether a vision survives contact with construction. Remi C.T. Studio managed that process from development design through to delivery, ensuring the quality of the end product matched the ambition of the brief. The result is six apartments that feel finished, not fitted out.

Credits

Architectural Design Team

Remi C.T. Studio

Structural Engineer

Anderson Consulting Engineers

MEP Engineers

Con-Serv

Steel Fabricators

Surrey Steels

Facade Design

Leo Facades

CDM/PD Advisor

MSA Safety

AV Specialists

AT&C