The York Building is a mixed development occupying a city block between Great Cumberland Place and the Edgeware Road just north of Hyde Park. The accommodation comprises 118,360 sq ft (11,000 sq m) of offices above 8,608 sq ft (800 sq m) of retail and 40,888 sq ft (3,800 sq m) of residential in an integrally designed but discreet block.

The design concept and detailed design of the facades have commended themselves to the Westminster planners EPR's application on behalf of British Land was unanimously approved by Westminster's Planning Sub-Committee on the 23rd November 2000.

The long, tapering island site of York House is situated just north of Hyde Park. One end elevation fronts onto the busy arterial Edgware Road while the other overlooks a fine residential Victorian crescent in Cumberland Place, which forms part of the local conservation area. The design concept and detailed design of this 6-storey building required a cohesive, in-the-round approach that could equally address both settings, while internally integrating the building's mix of office, residential and retail space, as well as a casino at lower ground level.

The office space forms the largest portion of the building with 11,000m2 of floor area accommodated within a very simple deep plan with central service cores. A high proportion of glazing in the perimeter wall allows daylight to penetrate this space and is broken up into deep, 4-metre bays separated by external full-height columns. This strong form clearly articulates the building's structure and adds depth to the facades on all four elevations. The use of brises-soleilles is twofold. On the southern façade they form an essential part of the Environmental Engineering Programme reducing solar gain and energy consumption whilst creating sufficient glazing to create a bright and airy atmosphere within the offices. On the north elevation they reduce the impact and sense of overlooking relative to the predominantly residential buildings on the opposite side of the street. Here, although the floor-to-ceiling heights are necessarily less than those of the offices, the horizontal differential is minimised by two dominant vertical recesses in both long elevations. Dividing the building up visually into three blocks, one of these fully-glazed top-lit recesses indicates the entrances to the offices while the other expresses the break between the residential and office blocks. At ground level, the siting of these entrances allows space for a large retail unit fronting on to Edgware Road.

The rounded corners of the building are emphasised by the strongly-detailed form of the curved cladding that lead the eye to the next elevation. This gentle curved form is repeated in the zinc-clad roof that unifies the whole free-standing building.

Current Status: Currently on-site, due for completion Christmas 06.
Client: British Land PLC