Lakeshore, the former Wills Tobacco Headquarters

DATE: work began on the site in 1970 and took five years to complete.

ARCHITECT: designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, Chicago, in collaboration with Yorke, Rosenberg and Mardall, London. Landscaping by Kenneth Booth.

MATERIALS: a reinforced concrete-framed podium beneath a Cor-ten steel-framed block with concrete floor slabs.

PLAN: an L-shaped two-storey concrete podium, circa 168 by 102m, orientated north-east to south-west. A rectangular, five-storey block rises from the south-west wing, circa 72x33m.

EXTERIOR: the two-storey podium, set above the elongated kidney-shaped largely natural lake, is partially built into the land. The podium, originally housing the amenities for the factory workers, has strong horizontal strips of exposed aggregate forming balustrades, with two tubular handrails. It has recessed full height glazing divided by the concrete pillars of the frame. The vertical members of the frame are visible between the main part of the building and the lake below. The five-storey steel-framed block originally had shops on the first storey with offices above. The frame has the weathered, oxidised appearance characteristic of Cor-ten steel. There are 20 bays with glazing recessed by 1.8m, or approximately half a bay, emphasising the grid structures and giving an appearance of transparency. Cor-ten grilles on each floor form balconies, enclosed by glass screens, and diffuse sunlight. The large glazed areas are now divided by narrow pale panels, placed between the apartments, which echo the rhythm of the steel frame. There is an inserted vertical break of one bay part-way along the frame on the south-east and north-west elevations, emphasising the new entrances. An atrium, set back from the façades, tops the office block. Treatment, proportions and materials are uniform on all elevations.

INTERIORS: there is a stairwell within the steel-framed block with a concrete dog-leg stair with a square-tubular handrail. All other internal features relate to the new residential accommodation. Large light-wells have been inserted through the concrete slab floors of the office block and a concrete lift shaft and internal landscaping features have been added.