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City of london EC2
The conversion
to offices had resulted in most of the internal details being either
removed or badly damaged – a train of events which had started about
70 years earlier with the replacement of the original Georgian windows
with typical Edwardian 2-over-2 sash windows. By good fortune the
original front door cases and front doors had survived both use and
abuse and represent one of the finest details on the buildings. |
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Flat Information
On the
interior none of the original architraves, doors or skirtings had
survived. Two original fireplaces were found on the upper floors
and some old (sympathetic) fireplaces had been installed in recent
years on the first floors of two of the houses. A small fragment
of early cornice work was found in one of the entrance halls. Based
closely on precedent a new set of architrave details was prepared
capable of adjustment to match the hierarchical status of the respective
rooms. New door designs were prepared and half panelling designs
completed – designs conceived to allow for adaptation to the numerous
tight corners of these old houses. Cornices were also reintroduced
with extruded sections used for all the reception rooms and main
bedrooms. In the entrance halls a bespoke cornice was specified
based on the discovered fragment. |
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Land Information
The
flooring in the houses is entirely new with the ground and first
floor reception rooms finished in oak, and the bedrooms carpeted
with a product visually sympathetic to the period of the houses.
On the top floors of 5 and 6 New Street the original roof timber
has been exposed to provide a greater sense of space. In the bedrooms
this creates a feature that reveals something about the history
of the houses. |
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