Bracken House, London
Bracken House, a former newspaper office and printworks was the first post-war building to be listed in Britain. Careful conversion work for a Japanese bank involved retaining both wings and replacing the architecturally less interesting central portion by an oval-shaped section containing six floors of new open plan office space. The low ceiling height and spatial arrangement in the older wings was retained, the levels change from new to old building being handled by means of short flights of steps in the long services cores linking the two parts. The proximity to St. Paul's called for a careful treatment of design and material. The reinforced concrete frame is clearly visible in the interior.
