Architects Journal reports that the Mayor of London’s team declared there was ‘no sound planning reasons’ for him to overrule the council’s refusal to let the architect convert the former Royal Mint into facilities for Chinese diplomats.
image: By Julie Cookson, CC BY-SA 2.0, Commons Wikimedia
Architects Journal writes:
…Tower Hamlets turned down David Chipperfield Architects’ proposals in December, citing harm to heritage assets from mitigation measures required in light of potential ‘acts of terrorism’.
Protesters had been vocal in their opposition to the scheme….
Under Chipperfield’s plans, the Grade II*-listed Johnson Smirke Building at the centre of the former Royal Mint site would have been refurbished to include embassy space. A public square would have been created in front of it, behind the site’s gated entrance.
The Grade II-listed Seaman’s [Registry], which was remodelled by RMJM in the 1980s, would also have been refurbished….
