ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV

Angel ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV, London submitted by AHMM

The Angel ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV is an extensive refurbishment of a lumbering and unloved eighties office block at a prominent junction on the edge of central London. The structural concrete frame of the original building has been retained but new spaces and a distinctive new external glazed skin have been wrapped around it. With its envelope sleekly clad in continuous black steel curtain wall and split into 3m bays, the facade attempts to recreate the linear simplicity of Mies van der Rohe. And yet with its gently curved main frontage and deferential treatment of its street edges, it makes a far more positive contribution to local urban grain and historic fabric than its hulking predecessor ever did. But it is the central atrium that leaves the greatest impact. In what was once the brooding belly of the former building the architects have inserted a soaring, spacious foyer flooded with daylight and exquisitely encased in smoothly honed concrete. With its monumental scale and geometric layout, the atrium is the perfect symbol of a building that has been rejuvenated by clarity, precision and order.

Each day in the lead up to the ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV Awards ceremony next month, we will profile one of the finalists in the Project of the Year and Public ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV Project of the Year. The winners will be announced as the ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV Awards ceremony taking place on April 7. To book a table at the ºÃÉ«ÏÈÉúTV Awards visit the .