The Interiors Group has just completed the third in a series of office refurbishments for Esselco Services, the premium serviced office provider. The extensive refurbishment of the Grade II Listed Green Park House, within the Mayfair Conservation Area, follows on from the Company’s successful completion of 3 Lloyd’s Avenue and Warnford Court in the City.

Designed by J Harold Cooper in Arts and Crafts style at the end of the 19th Century, The Interiors Group used Scott Brownrigg Interior Design to create a flexible, light and modern interior whilst retaining a boutique feel that paid respect to the building’s prestigious residential roots. The objective was to create a modern-day members’ club that would feel like a home-away-from-home, a concept that has already been adopted in Warnford Court and 3 Lloyd’s Avenue, albeit using a very different aesthetic language.

The Interiors Group and Scott Brownrigg Planning were also involved in several detailed planning applications and listed building consent applications.

Lloyd Dorfman of Esselco explained:“The Interiors Group were extremely professional & a pleasure to work with. The work and commitment that they put in has made a huge difference to the project. However hard you think about it, no matter how much detail you put into the planning process, inevitably things change, The Interiors Group were very positive about implementing these changes and coped with this admirably.”

The previous fit-out was unsympathetic to the history of the building so the new concept stripped these away combining modern interventions and furniture that enhanced the original features. 

The building is accessed through a historic lobby and reception space, where the dated wall finishes were stripped and the original Portland stone revealed and refurbished. The furniture in this area is classic and elegant, with the reception desk combining the classic features of an antique writing table with the clean lines of its modern overcounter, finished in stunning bronze mirror. The beautiful original oak panelling of the main staircase has been carefully French-polished and large areas of original stonework uncovered and restored.

The boldest intervention in the refurbishment is the conversion, by The Interiors Group, of one of the building’s original courtyards from an enclosed space with an unsightly glazed roof to a compact but stunning roof terrace, finished in luxurious hardwood decking, which is accessed from the main reception through doors sensitively integrated into the original stone windows. Two automatic roof lights, surrounded by deep planters containing natural wild flowers, allow light to spill into reconfigured meeting and interview rooms below.

The new meeting rooms also benefit from a full height glass screen, which looks onto a new open courtyard
accessed from the lower ground floor lounge and conference suite. This area is one of the highlights of the refurbishment. Accessed via a modern take on the original main staircase a bespoke oak staircase, subtle tones have been used in the common areas, including a luxurious wall covering, to contrast with the bold green carpets used in the meeting rooms. The fresh look, enhanced by classic and light modern furniture, brightens up these daylight-starved spaces.

The bright and organic theme continues through to the main breakout and holding lounge. Originally used as the home’s kitchen, the space featured original glazed bricks that have been beautifully restored. The cream tones in the bricks are echoed by a pebble-like resin floor, which complements the warm natural tones in the Corian worktops and pale oak joinery. 

What was once a tired and dated environment, where period features were either suffocated or stuffily recreated, is now an elegant and refined place of work where the refurbished original aspects are celebrated together with modern design. It is a 21st Century hub to work, meet and even relax, which is visually proud of its 19th Century history; a prestigious environment, which every tenant will be proud to call their own.

The Interiors Group and Scott Brownrigg Interior Design continue to add to the portfolio of combined and successful buildings for Esselco, with this highly technical and demanding project.