Located on a prominent triangular site at the junction of Queen Victoria Street, Cannon Street and Queen Street, Albert Buildings is one of the City of London’s most recognisable Victorian commercial landmarks. Emrys Architects has now secured planning consent for its sensitive restoration, refurbishment and adaptive reuse, transforming the Grade II-listed building into 39 serviced apartments above retained retail and restaurant space.

Originally constructed in 1872, Albert Buildings has remained largely unchanged for more than 150 years. The approved proposals will carefully restore the building’s richly ornamented stone façades, introduce a long-term strategy for historically sympathetic shopfronts, comprehensively upgrade accessibility and fire safety, and replace a collection of unsympathetic rooftop additions with a restrained contemporary zinc extension set back from the historic façades.

The project seeks to secure the long-term future of the landmark through adaptive reuse, retaining the existing structure to preserve embodied carbon while improving operational performance. Occupying a highly prominent position opposite the Grade I-listed Church of St Mary Aldermary within the Bow Lane Conservation Area, the scheme balances heritage conservation with contemporary intervention to give one of the City’s defining Victorian buildings a sustainable new lease of life.