Ice Factory is a repurposed industrial warehouse, now a vibrant mixed-use development, located in Belgravia, London, U.K., also known as 27 Eccleston Place and forming part of Eccleston Yards, an urban oasis set around a beautiful courtyard, with spaces to work, eat, drink, explore, shop, exercise and nurture creativity. Originally built during the 19th century, the warehouse was home to Shingleton's Ice Company. Over two centuries, the building has been adapted as a coachworks, power station and motor repair centre. Spanning five floors, the 28,923–square–foot structure boasts a vintage red brick aesthetic and a striking sawtooth roof. At ground level is a fitness studio, above are three floors of office space and a high–end rooftop restaurant, open to the public.

Our client, Grosvenor, is an international organisation whose activities span urban property, food and agricultural technology, and rural estate management, alongside supporting philanthropic initiatives. Its U.K. property business supports approximately a thousand businesses and tens of thousands of residents and workers across London’s West End each day.

In line with its sustainability commitments, Grosvenor has pioneered several redevelopments of historic and dated buildings across its London portfolio, including Holbein Gardens, its first net-zero office scheme and Newson’s Yard, the transformation of the capital’s oldest timber yard into a new hub for the design community.

Completed in late 2023, Ice Factory is yet another jewel in the crown of Grosvenor’s beautiful portfolio of urban and adaptive reuse refurbished buildings, achieving high–quality office space and compelling placemaking and retail destinations, prioritizing wellness within sympathetically retained old structures.

The project team comprised of architects from Buckley Grey Yeoman, structural engineers from Heyne Tillett Steel and construction specialists from Collins. HDR was appointed to provide Cat A fit–out, for the office space and secured an extended scope to carry out client monitoring for the full fit–out Cat B designs of the office space and fitness studio. HDR’s scope included mechanical, electrical, plumbing, control systems, fire and life safety, vertical transportation, lighting design and energy services.

Overcoming Challenges

A comprehensive review brought challenges to light. Within the constrained site, the existing power supply was insufficient, there was very little external plant space available, and the roof was unusually shaped for services to be installed. Site access was restricted to a very narrow entrance as the wider development is located on the fringes of the Belgravia Conservation Area. Ice Factory is located over the Crossrail 2 exclusion zone and is close to London Underground Circle and District line tunnels. It is neighboured by Grade II listed Regency and Victorian houses, commercial buildings, and the arrivals hall for Victoria Coach Station; presenting an array of obstacles to carefully consider throughout design and delivery.

Powering Ice Factory 

HDR provided a holistic solution to the site’s power deficiency through mindfully delivering a new substation in coordination with UK Power Networks; working around existing underground tunnels and infrastructure, to avoid disruption. Fresh air is provided by two handling units on each office floor, installed high within the steel structure; maximising the space available, along with exposed soffit mounted variable refrigerant flow fan coil units for heating and cooling. HDR worked in close collaboration with the design team to develop plant and energy strategies in alignment with Grosvenor’s carbon saving targets.

Circular Economy Principles

Ice Factory was completed prior to the launch of Grosvenor’s overarching sustainability strategy. However, this project paved the way for their outlook; in alignment with circular economy principles, waste hierarchy and the maximisation of building material retention and reuse, which are thoroughly demonstrable at both Holbein Gardens and Newson’s Yard. It was imperative that existing building fabrics, combined with newer elements, provided the required structural and environmental performance. Steel beams and columns on the façade were retained with the riveted ironwork coated in red oxide paint and the existing arched openings utilised to provide openings to the retail and office space. The additional floors are clad in brick, with a subtle tonal distinction marking the differentiation between the old and new.

Ice Factory has achieved BREEAM Very Good certification and HDR provided a multitude of services to match Grosvenor’s environmental responsibilities, including heat pump domestic hot water generation, a green wall with irrigation, thermal comfort modelling, all electric heating and cooling, and enhanced fabric performance. The green wall, complete with a responsible hydration system is also an excellent expression of biophilic design; in alignment with Grosvenor’s desire to incorporate nature into the urban mixed–use environment; believed to improve mood, reduce stress, increase productivity, absorb unwanted noise pollution and enhance air quality.

The delivery of the kitchen extraction solution was one of the most significant aspects of this project. These systems are commonly implemented in adaptive reuse developments, whereby complex designs serve the modern requirements of old structures; highlighting the importance of delivery prior to the completion of other services. This also enables the ground floor retail units to be let to other tenants including, bars, cafés or restaurants, thus increasing site flexibility.

HDR’s vertical transportation engineers also provided direct access to the restaurant on the rooftop from ground level via a separate entrance and elevator, along with a goods elevator for the development and passenger elevators for the office tenants. Accessibility was prioritised by installing a platform lift to the ground floor level, previously lowered by half a storey beneath surrounding ground level. HDR’s lighting designers took reference from the industrial history of the site and maximized natural light through implementing an attractive external illumination design at roof level.

High volumes of insulation were added to the old warehouse structure, in compliance with modern sustainability, fire and life safety standards, while retaining its historic charm. All office floors and retail units were fitted with fire alarm systems, each requiring louvre positioning and complete with their own interfaces. HDR designed capped services for the retail unit and restaurant, enabling the tenants to easily connect their own equipment, and provided a building management system, with state–of–the–art hardware manufactured by Trend for the office floors.

Office Spaces

The office spaces at Ice Factory are captivating, with wellness at the forefront of their functionality. One of the tenants has led by example through embracing biophilic design, installing their own large tropical aquarium alongside a modern gym facility and futuristic golf simulator. The character of the original warehouse is intact with the retention of decorative stonework and other smaller touches, such as Victorian junction boxes and vintage machinery repurposed as stylish furnishings. This elegant mixed–use development in one of London’s most sought-after postcodes, can occupy up to 200 people, and benefits from the 130 million commuters passing through nearby Victoria Station each year, with the popular railway terminus currently undergoing a £700 million upgrade.