Target House, London

Target House
General information
Type Mixed use
Location London, England
Coordinates 51°30′22″N 0°08′21″W / 51.5061°N 0.1392°W / 51.5061; -0.1392Coordinates: 51°30′22″N 0°08′21″W / 51.5061°N 0.1392°W / 51.5061; -0.1392
Completed 1984
Technical details
Floor count 6
Floor area 11,843 square feet (1,100 m2)[1]
Design and construction
Architect Rodney Gordon
Ground floor showing the premises of Stern Pissarro
St James's Street from Piccadilly

Target House is a modern commercial building designed by British modernist architect Rodney Gordon (1933–2008) of Tripos Architects. It is located at 66 St James's Street, London, at the junction with St James's Place.

Design and construction

The building was designed in 1979 and completed in 1984. It replaced Map House, designed by R.J. Worley.[2][3] The anodised bronze and aluminum cladding of the building made it a departure from the "brutalist" concrete designs more usually produced by Gordon.[4]

Reception

Charles McKean, the architecture correspondent for The Times, praised Target House, then known just as 66 St James's Street, for its boldness and panache but doubted the medieval credentials of the building claimed by the designers. He pointed out that the area had been developed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and was not known for its medieval architecture apart from the faux medievalism of the nineteenth century.[5]

McKean argued that the reference to the medieval was a red-herring and the building was in fact more notable for its modernity and affinity with the "space programme". He speculated that the chopped-off towers at roof-line, that made the spectator say "ouch" and were the least successful part of the design in his opinion, were really the result of planning regulations that restricted the height of new buildings in the area.[5]

Occupancy

The design included retail premises, offices and flats and the building was used in that form for many years. The ground floor is still occupied by the Stern Pissarro Gallery,[6] founded in 1964.[7] In February 2013, a successful planning application was made to Westminster Council to allow a change of use of the first to fourth floors from B1 (offices) to C3 (residential) use.[8]

Ownership

In 2012, the building was sold by Standard Life Investments to Albert Hay's Capital and City Group for £10.5 million.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 Standard Life Investments has sold the freehold of 66 St James’s Street to Albert Hay’s Capital and City Group for £10.5m reflecting a net initial yield of 3.94%. Strutt & Parker, 12 April 2012. Retrieved 21 July 2015.
  2. ↑ Nos. 66–67 St. James's Street and 1 St. James's Place, 1899–1900. British History Online. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  3. ↑ Nos. 66–67 St. James's Street and No. 1 St. James's Place. British History Online. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  4. ↑ Rodney Gordon. Catherine Croft, The Guardian, 10 September 2008. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  5. 1 2 "Red herring of medievalism", Charles McKean, The Times, 2 May 1983, p. 4.
  6. ↑ Stern Pissarro Gallery.. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  7. ↑ Stern Art: STERN PISSARRO GALLERY LONDON
  8. ↑ Search planning applications and decisions. City of Westminster. Ref: 13/01302/FULL. Retrieved 25 July 2015.
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