Greater London House

Built in 1928, Greater London House is a distinctive Art Deco building in Camden, just a six-minute walk from Regent’s Park. It is the former head office of the media giant EMAP, which includes Architect’s Journal and Construction News in its portfolio of magazines.

Following an evaluation process which involved reviewing stone samples from several suppliers, Vivendi Architects selected Portland Jordans Whitbed for the stone cladding of this bold two-storey extension. With the client imposing an ambitious timescale, the architect wanted to expedite the tender process by eliminating the need for provisional sums within the stone package. To achieve this, they recognised the need to enlist the assistance of specialist stone designers at Stage D.

A scoping meeting was set up at Vivendi’s North London office with Putney & Wood and Albion Stone, the Portland stone supplier, in attendance. Putney & Wood, agreed to assign a member of the design team to interpret Vivendi’s elevation drawings and provide, but not charge for, the stonework drawings Vivendi required. These drawings were then incorporated into the tender package, thereby increasing the likelihood of receiving compliant, comparable bids from the contractors.