London, United Kingdom

Located in the heart of the british capital, Fletcher Priest Architects’s Lucent unifies 13 distinct buildings behind London’s most famous billboard into a mixed-use development that retains and celebrates the identities of each building and Piccadilly Circus.

Since the early 1900s, Piccadilly has been home to illuminated advertising, and the lights have since hosted art installations, advertising campaigns and messages from the royal family.

In 2012, Landsec, Europe’s largest property company, commissioned Fletcher Priest Architects to design a transformational plan for the area situated behind the iconic Piccadilly Lights.

The objective was to convert this space into a dynamic creative workspace, enticing retail establishments, and residential buildings while ensuring uninterrupted operation of the lights and existing shops.

For over six decades, the site had posed a persistent planning challenge, with a series of design propositions falling short of gaining approval.

The project has been awarded a 2024 International Architecture Award by The Chicago Athenaeum Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.

Notably, this site is home to the world-famous advertising billboard, Piccadilly Lights, a prominent fixture in national culture and an essential stop on every tourist’s agenda.

Lucent, situated at the prestigious One Sherwood Street, garnered accolades from Westminster Council for its innovative approach.

It adeptly reconciles a complex assortment of functions and seemingly conflicting interests with a clever and rational strategy that understates the intricacy of the site.

This project elevates the essence of the original buildings on the premises, while concurrently enhancing the public realm.

A tranquil garden space, nestled behind the iconic advertising billboard, introduces natural light from above, revitalising the space for practical use.

The exterior of this complex, historic site has been celebrated and protected, with new façades designed to echo nearby styles and certain elements, including listed buildings, carefully dismantled and restored.

Fletcher Priest worked with bespoke plaster moulding designers Locker & Riley to completely reinstate the ceiling and walls of the banking hall of the Grade II listed London County and Westminster Bank, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield in the early 1900s.

Rainbow Corner at the junction of Shaftsbury Avenue and Denman Street – the home of the American Red Cross Club during WWII – has been marked with a feature design which uses three-dimensional tiles to graduate the transition from roof to façade.

The handmade faience tiles were manufactured by Shaws of Darwen and architectural ceramicists NBK in Germany, before being assembled in precast concrete.

Other unlisted façades were deemed to be of high architectural value, and so have been dismantled and reconstructed in facsimile.

The building’s main entrance on Sherwood Street is designed to look like a Mayfair gallery, with huge windows opening up the space to the street.

The minimalist interior finish includes curated artwork hung on the walls, and a feature spiral staircase.

Reflecting a changing view of the office, the first and second floors are flexible, with floors three to six consisting of exceptionally large floorplates for the area.

The workspace has been designed to the highest standards and can be considered one of the healthiest in the country, with a target rating of WELL Core Gold.

Committed to sustainability, the building is also targeting BREEAM Outstanding.

The Light Garden is just one of a series of outdoor spaces throughout the building, designed to support the wellbeing of tenants, as well as improve the environment and biodiversity of the area.

The 22 terraces and gardens across the building include a variety of planting, with more than 600 plants from 38 different species.

Every floor from the third upwards has access to a terrace, all providing views of London which have, up to now, never been experienced before.

A central courtyard on the third floor is completely open to all weathers, further improving air circulation and natural light in the building.

The site is elegantly ensconced within a folding geometric roofscape.

The elevated rooftop gives space for workspaces and a new restaurant. These open onto terraces and offer awe-inspiring vistas across the heart of London.

Project: Lucent Mixed-Use Development
Architects: Fletcher Priest Architects
Client: Land Securities Group PLC.
General Contractor: Wates Group Ltd.
Photographers: Dirk Linder, Architecture Photography, Jason Hawkes, Aerial Photography Sky Power – Drone Footage (video)