Welcome to Arding & Hobbs - the much-loved department store that was 'simply too beautiful to let go'. Our partners, B&K Structures with Stiff & Trevillion, and a host of experts have avoided demolition of this iconic UK landmark and lovingly restored it to its former glory as a mix of offices and vibrant high street retail.

Arding & Hobbs was established in 1876 and has occupied its purpose-built department store in a Grade II-listed building in Battersea, London since 1910. The building was designed in the Edwardian Baroque style by architect James Gibson.

However, the store, like many UK department stores, had become increasingly run down over the years (SAVE Britain's Heritage in 2022 Report). Rather than tearing down the structure and contributing to the UKs high levels of construction debris Stiff and Trevlilon with our partners, B&K Structures breathed new life into the 97,000 sq ft (27,432 m²) building with an extensive refurbishment, including a new floor made and cross-laminated timber (CLT) framed roof pavilion.

The vertical extension rests on the existing columns and spine walls, applying a lightweight steel and timber structure that requires only minimal modifications within the volume below. They  demonstrate perfectly the retrofit and circular economy benefits of the Sylva™ kit by Stora Enso.

Stiff + Trevillion removed the 1970s canopy, restoring its historic features - clocktower, barrel vaults and stained-glass dome - and adding a new floor. While B&K Structures installed the Sylva™ CLT Floors and Roofs from Stora Enso for the biodiverse rooftop extension, adding additional floors to the existing building. The heightening of the building with the two-story rooftop pavilion is discreetly set back from the façade to minimise the visual impact and provides tenants with outdoor terraces.

A top-lit atrium in the centre of the building increased the building's use of natural daylight. New escalators connect the floors, creating opportunities for social interaction.

Architect's view

'Arding & Hobbs is a unique building, a purpose-built department store that had been altered and amended to fit with the changing habits of shoppers over the last 100 years. Unravelling all those interventions and repurposing the building for office use was challenging. It is a local landmark held in great affection by the surrounding community and we didn't want to disappoint.

We also wanted to incorporate references to the building's former life, for example the use of escalators is unexpected in an office building yet seemed the most fitting choice for moving people around this large building in a sociable way.

The design of the 8m-high rooftop pavilion is boldly contemporary whilst happily integrating with the existing building through its pleated façade. The pavilion is constructed primarily from timber, with the structure formed using a diagrid of glulam beams with a CLT deck. It's deliberately not a corporate space. The ambiguity is more convivial and inviting.'

Lance Routh, Director, Stiff + Trevillion for the AJ Sept, 2024

Environmental performance data

On-site energy generation 0.44% (rooftop PVs only)

Annual mains water consumption 3.73 m³/occupant (from BREEAM Mat01 calculation)

Airtightness at 50Pa 21.81 m³/h.m² (25 m³/h.m² in existing areas, 5 m³/h.m² in new extension)

Heating and hot water load 15.7 kWh/m²/yr

Overall area-weighted U-value 1.01 W/m²K

Design life 60 years

Embodied/whole-life carbon 531 kgCO₂eq/m²

Annual CO2 emissions 824.8 kgCO₂eq/m²

BREEAM EXCELLENT

Source Architects' Journal September 2024

AWARDS

Dezeen Awards 2024  Longlisted

Structural Timber Awards 2024 - shortlisted

New London Awards 2021 commended 

WAF 2021 Awards shortlisted

View more rooftop vertical extensions with Sylva™ kits

11 Belgrave Road 

27 Mortimer 

Croix Saint Simon 

PARMENTIER 

Learn more about

Economics of retrofitting instead of demolition

10 advantages of mass timber construction