The Circle

The Circle, Southwark, London

Built between 1987 and 1989, The Circle was designed by CZWG, with Piers Gough as lead architect and Robinson, Keefe and Devane as executive architects. The building comprises four residential storeys (rising to six at the central circus) above ground-floor commercial units and two basement storeys of car parking. The basement levels unite two halves of the development beneath the site.

The building's irregular footprint follows Queen Elizabeth Street and opens out into a distinctive circus at its mid-point, with returns at junctions with Shad Thames to the east and Curlew Street and Three Oak Lane to the west. The circus is divided into four quadrants, linked by two pairs of entrance foyers. Vehicular access to the basement car parks is positioned on the right side of the main entrances on both sides of the circus. The apartments, approximately square on plan, are arranged on two sides of a central corridor with stairs and lifts at the exterior angles of each quadrant.

The structure consists of an in-situ reinforced concrete frame, clad internally in steel panels and externally in stock brick and glazed blue bricks. Pine log struts support balconies throughout the building.

Two contrasting design languages are employed. The street elevations use stock brick, responding to the surrounding 19th-century warehouses of Shad Thames. The street-facing and rear elevations feature repeated bays of casement windows with portrait proportions and gold-coloured metal glazing bars, with tall slender doorways positioned between broad shop windows. The fifth-floor windows alternate between flat- and segmental-headed lintels, reflecting the wavy parapet above, a reference to the Thameside location. Balconies run diagonally up the elevation, detailed with angled metal slat railings, wooden handrails and steel bases bearing on thick pine log posts and struts.

The central circus is faced in cobalt blue glazed bricks and comprises four quadrants, each with a row of diagonal balconies. Each quadrant has a parapet with curved sides shaped like a vast vessel and terminating with triangular projections. The identical entrances either side of the circus are sheltered by semi-circular projecting metal-clad canopies which connect the quadrants and reinforce the symmetrical composition. The blue cylinder variously references storage vessels and the area's 19th-century dye and paint works.

The double-height entrance from Queen Elizabeth Street to the north-east courtyard features a tall rectangular opening cut through a semi-circular arch, its geometry mirrored in the metal entrance gates which incorporate a semi-circle. The passage to the courtyard is oversailed by a glazed bridge with walkways at ground and first-floor level, also with gold-coloured metal glazing bars. The south-west courtyard is accessed via a simpler splayed entrance with steps up to a rectangular metal gate.

The steady rhythm of the Queen Elizabeth Street elevations is punctuated by distinct corner treatments. At Three Oak Lane, the upper floors rest on a concrete bracket reminiscent of a ship's prow. At Curlew Street, there is a projecting bay with a towering grid of square windows. At Shad Thames, a chamfered corner features a wrap-around balcony. The return to Shad Thames incorporates a stepped-back terrace of three double-storey houses of similar design, their upper storeys recessed behind a roof terrace.

The broad curved entrance lobbies on both sides of the circus incorporate bespoke reception desks in the form of a narrow slice of a circle, and staircases with white-veined black marble dressings and metal handrails. The commercial units and offices at street level and residential units above were internally fitted out to standardised specifications; their interiors are not considered significant components of the architectural design. The car parking below is not innovative in form or layout and is not considered architecturally significant.

At the centre of the circus stands a bronze equine statue mounted on an ashlar plinth. 'Jacob – the Circle Dray Horse', created in 1987 by sculptor Shirley Pace, is a realist, over-life-size sculpture of a dray horse, alluding to the area's 19th-century brewery stables and the parish name Southwark St John Horsleydown, which may derive from an ancient name for a grazing ground. The plinth incorporates two bronze plaques recording the names of firms associated with the development and bearing information on the area's history. The sculpture is spotlit by lights on each of the four quadrants. Stock brick garden planters and ventilation or service structures in each of the four communal garden areas form part of the original scheme. The central sculpture and all hard landscaping, including the brick planter and service structures in the communal gardens, form part of the listing.