Bracken House

Bracken House

Bracken House is a prominent City building located to the south-east of St Paul's Cathedral. It comprises a complex structure that retains the 1950s ranges designed by Richardson and Houfe while incorporating a substantial late 20th-century intervention by Hopkins Architects. The building is Grade II* listed.

The rectangular site is divided into northern and southern ranges that preserve Richardson and Houfe's original 1950s structure. Between these ranges, on the site of the former printing works, stands a large elliptical central section planned around an atrium with four lifts, stairs and landings beneath a glazed roof. Open office floor areas occupy seven floors on either side of the atrium. The entrance is now from the east, on Friday Street.

The 1950s parts of the building are faced in red Hollington sandstone from Staffordshire and pale red bricks with bronze windows, beneath a weathered copper roof. This colour was a deliberate reference to the Financial Times' pink pages. The newer elements comprise a reinforced concrete frame with external windows of cast gunmetal and bronze above a sandstone plinth. Principal internal materials include finely cast concrete, zinc-coated steel, and glass.

The building rises to seven storeys above two service basements. The north elevation to Cannon Street comprises ten bays with canted angles to each corner. The south elevation comprises seven bays with rounded turrets. Richardson and Houfe's elevational treatment employs a plain giant order in brick, with sandstone plinth and banding at first and second floor levels rising to a cornice with a recessed attic above. Detailing includes a prominent astronomical clock in gilt and enamel by Philip Bentham, decorated with Winston Churchill's face as a tribute to Bracken's political mentor, oak leaf enrichment to the main entrance, and free-standing bronze columns to the ground floor bay windows. The north and south elevations retain this masonry and brick treatment; the east and west sides consist of richly glazed steel and glass High Tech insertions. The Hopkins element is complementary while distinctly different in character. These elevations respect the plinth, cornice and roof lines of the earlier parts while adopting High Tech treatment with abundant glazing, necessary for the deep floor-plates within. The glazing consists of rectangular bay windows with angled returns linked by continuous tie-rods. The outer walls are load-bearing, faced in cast gunmetal and bronze, with external columns running the full height of the building supported on metal base brackets rising from tall sandstone piers.

Few areas of the Richardson phase's interior survive, having been mainly converted to open-plan office use. The original entrance hall on the north side is the best-preserved and most interesting, with a decorated door surround, giant pilasters and a mezzanine level landing. The prestigious upper floor along the north side retains marble window surrounds but is otherwise much altered. The new central section contains a double-height reception area leading to an imposing atrium topped with a grid of glass block. A daring bridge of glass block set in concrete provides access to a central bank of partly-glazed lifts with exposed cabling. Floor slabs are carried on reinforced concrete columns, with radial beams supporting the central section. Services are located within the floor void, resulting in minimal visual intrusion. Throughout the newer spaces, shared areas display consistently high standards of detailing and execution. The concrete contains sparkling Lee Moor sand and is carefully finished, while glass bricks in the upper level floors create intricate luminosity. Service areas are not of special interest.