23 Grafton Street
London, UK
SCH Architects
JLL Heritage
We were commissioned by planning consultants JLL to help achieve planning for this scheme on a tight urban site. A Grafton Street gallery had recently applied to build a glass-roofed extension on its rear courtyard, but the project had been refused on heritage grounds.
The application for a relatively small architectural intervention had relied on drawings to communicate the scheme, and the planners had been worried about the way the extension would affect the building’s listed rear façade.
Access to the site, enclosed on all sides, was difficult and it was clear that a traditional approach to verified views would not be possible. We suggested creating a fully 3D environment to show the scheme at the right scale and with the required levels of accuracy. We modelled the courtyard using data established by survey drawings and took photos of the textures of the courtyard to create realistic and detailed images of both the existing condition and the proposed scheme, and show the exact nature of the connection between the glazed roof and illustrated facade. In addition, we created a virtual tour so that the planners could experience the new space at scale.
VR Experience
Our images helped successfully secure planning for the exact same scheme without any alterations to the original design being required.
Project Collaborators:
Photography: John Maclean
