GROUPWORK's latest project in London's Farringdon neighborhood reinstates the facades of eight historic buildings demolished in the 1960s. Located at 8 Bleeding Heart Yard, the office building's new enclosure was designed using aluminum screens that mimic the original stone. It rests on the structure of the demolished building's successor, a nondescript midcentury office.
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GROUPWORK developed a proposal in which the appearance of the original row historic buildings would be restored and the existing structure reused. Floorplate expansions and a rooftop level would also be added in order to reclaim the original footprint of the block.
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The intention was never to copy or fully reconstruct the demolished structures. Instead, Taha describes it as an exercise in “edited memory.”
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Despite the accuracy of its silhouette, 8 Bleeding Heart Yard's irregularities become legible up close. The facade is actually a thin metal screen permeable to natural light and the building's columns don't quite reach the ground, appearing to float several inches above the pavement. There is also a discreet asymmetry to the structure—as if elements have been moved or deleted.