Located on Shad Thames, near London’s Tower Bridge, this project for renowned cutler David Mellor draws inspiration from the area’s 19th-century dockside warehouses. Designed to combine showroom, offices and a penthouse apartment, the building blends the robust clarity of industrial architecture with a refined urban sensibility mirroring the client’s own approach to craft and design.

The composition is straightforward yet highly considered: a six-storey glazed central block flanked by two vertical towers. The eastern tower houses the main entrance, stairs and lift, while the western contains secondary stairs and services. The narrow floorplates enable natural cross-ventilation throughout. At ground level, a light-filled showroom showcases Mellor’s products, with offices occupying the floors above. The top two storeys form a dramatic penthouse apartment, set back at each end to create generous roof terraces overlooking the Thames.

Materiality plays a central role in the building’s character. A fair-faced concrete frame is left exposed, with every structural and construction component performing both a functional and expressive role. Full-height sliding windows are set between the columns on the main elevations, enhancing transparency and connection to the riverside. The flank walls are clad in finely detailed, steel-framed lead panels, while the towers adopt a contrasting construction of flanged steel plates, bolted together in the manner of a ship’s superstructure.

The result is an elegant yet robust intervention rooted in the industrial heritage of Shad Thames, but crafted with precision and refinement appropriate to its distinguished client