en.Wedoany.com Reported - RSHP has unveiled renovation plans for the Lloyd's Register of Shipping building, a Stirling Prize-shortlisted structure in the City of London. Developer Yard Nine has submitted two planning applications to the City of London Corporation, covering 70 Fenchurch Street and 68 Fenchurch Street respectively, with plans to create a landmark new entrance on Fenchurch Street for the site. Yard Nine acquired the site from Lloyd's Register last year.

The 13-storey main building, constructed between 1996 and 2000 and shortlisted for the Stirling Prize in 2002, was the first office building in the UK to use chilled beams in its HVAC system. The site was previously occupied by industrial certification body Lloyd's Register, which shares origins with the insurance market Lloyd's of London but has operated independently for over a century. Yard Nine stated its intention to "fully reposition" the building, transforming it into modern Grade A office space meeting the needs of City businesses. The developer is also responsible for Eric Parry's 50 Fenchurch Street tower and TP Bennett's renovation of 80 Fenchurch Street. The developer has pledged that the renovation will "ensure the inherent timeless quality of the design is brought up to modern standards."

The renovation includes a new roof terrace, remodelling of the entrance courtyard, replacement of steps to the reception with an accessible ramp, replacement of outdated glazing, removal of window louvres, and improved internal circulation. The scheme has raised heritage concerns. The Twentieth Century Society has objected to RSHP's plan to change the colour of the building's steel structure from cobalt blue to what the practice describes as a "more neutral" charcoal grey. The planning application was submitted before the building could qualify for listed status under Historic England guidelines, which typically only consider buildings completed at least 30 years ago for listing. Heritage groups involved in pre-application consultations stated that the use of bright colours on structural steel elements is a "key characteristic" of RSHP's work and that of its co-founder Richard Rogers, including Rogers' Pompidou Centre and Inmos Microprocessing Factory. The groups noted that changing the blue to a more generic colour would harm the building's significance as a non-designated heritage asset (NDHA).

A related application proposes demolishing the adjacent Edwardian building at 68 Fenchurch Street and replacing it with a raised event space serving as an entrance to 70 Fenchurch Street. Built in 1910, 68 Fenchurch Street is not listed but was significantly altered in the 1990s to create an archway through the building, and currently forms the main pedestrian route to the main building. The building cannot be legally occupied as it does not meet current fire or accessibility regulations, and "viable refurbishment is not possible." Both sites are located within the Lloyd's Avenue Conservation Area. The City of London describes the conservation area as characterised by "a group of listed and unlisted office buildings of consistently high architectural quality, mostly Edwardian in origin, with a high degree of uniformity in scale, design and street layout." The proposed double-height event space would provide a more prominent gateway to 70 Fenchurch Street, which is largely hidden behind a row of Edwardian buildings on Fenchurch Street, including the Grade II* listed Colcutt Building, still occupied by Lloyd's Register.

Both projects share the same project team, including Arup (structural, MEP, and façade engineering), Core Five (cost consultancy), Third London Wall (project management), Newmark (planning), Montagu Evans (heritage), and Hyland Edgar Driver (landscape design), all of whom were involved in the original 1990s scheme. Additionally, RSHP is also undertaking the renovation of the Grade I listed Lloyd's of London building. The high-tech landmark will continue to be used as office space after previous plans to convert it into a hotel were shelved.

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