1 July 2022
Tokoro Capital has appointed Collins Construction to deliver a luxury office refurbishment at 35 Dover Street, Mayfair, to create a best-in-class office product fit for the prestigious location and tenant base.
Working with architectural interior designer Maison Arabella and Orbit Architects, Collins will deliver a high-end, Cat A Fit Out Plus to circa 10,000 sq ft across the second to sixth floors and all common areas, upgrading the building to an EPC B rating and targeting BREEAM ‘Very Good’.
The team will carry out minor structural works to the reception entrance to increase the floor space and provide bike storage and shower facilities. The team will also structurally modify the office floors to increase space and rationalise the layouts. This will allow future tenants to easily navigate the workspaces and common parts of the building, whilst benefitting from being part of a restored historic building that accommodates the modern-day working needs and aesthetic.
The design brief is in keeping with the project’s Mayfair address and will be delivered to a standard of luxury and elegance with the use of high-quality materials and bespoke joinery throughout.
The reception fit out will include the installation of bespoke cut marble stone slabs to create a unique marble floor inspired by old world tailoring, celebrating the fashionable area that the building is located in. The uniquely cut pieces of marble, inspired by the pattern cutting technique, create panels of cloth like pieces in four different stone finishes to adorn the entrance flooring coupled with a statement feature light that brings homage to the buildings original use as a Ladies members club.
Celebrating the building’s inherent architectural details, the team will reinstate a statement arch to the entrance that is cladded in mirror polished black metal.
The original staircase will be brought back to its original grandeur by restoring the marble feature stairs and adding a soft textured runner. The restored staircase will provide a striking contrast with a new modern lift shaft clad in a panelled effect of matte and gloss black patina metal. The existing balustrade will be reworked to allow for the existing features to be kept and new elements injected for functionality and aesthetic.
35 Dover Street is connected to the adjacent 15 Berkeley Street via the basement levels. The two buildings were historically home to the exclusive women-only Empress Club, inaugurated by Queen Victoria, purpose built for the opening of the club in 1887 and marking a new era in the history of Ladies’ Clubs.
Over 100 years later, 35 Dover Street has most recently been multi-let to office and luxury retail tenants, and the fit out will see the repositioning of the building to create a workspace for today’s commercial market. The building will be renamed Empress, a nod to its noble history.
Externally the team will doff clean and repair the original façade and replace the windows to refresh its appearance.
Bill Bowers, Divisional Director, said: “Every detail of the fit out has been meticulously planned to offer Mayfair businesses a best-in-class office space of the highest quality. Our one-team approach to refurbishment and fit out allows our team to make the structural alterations necessary to restore this characterful building, whilst having an eye for the final details. This Fit Out Plus expertise allows for careful planning and precision from the beginning of the programme to ensure high standards of delivery are achieved at every stage, with as much focus on the fine details as the structural alterations.”
Collins has just started on-site and is looking forward to delivering this exciting scheme alongside Tokoro Capital, Barbrook DM, Maison Arabella, Orbit Architects, Exigere, Cundall, Heyne Tillett Steel, Trigon and Sweco.
