Hammersmith Palais Faces New Student Plans

Hammersmith Palais Faces New Student Plans

Published on 08-02-2011 by Skyscrapernews.com
It's one of the most famous live venues in London, immortalised by the Clash in "White Man in Hammersmith Palais", but soon the gutted shell could finally be going, replaced by student accommodation developed by London and Regional.

The proposals from Make feature a part five storey part ten storey mixed building that will contain housing for 418 students, some 15,065 square metres of space in total, plus 195 square metres of ground floor retail, and 2,802 square metres of leisure space.

The plans had previously gone to a public inquiry that dismissed attempts by London and Regional who were appealing against the decision by local council, Hammersmith and Fulham, to refuse planning permission. Although the development was accepted in principle by the planning inspector, the proposals are cited in a conservation area and it was felt that they would have a negative impact.

Make has tried to rectify these complaints with a different design with a number of notable changes. These include having the building façade on Shepherd's Bush Road sited in the same place as the existing Hammersmith Palais façade, whilst the wings are scaled down to help it relate to surrounding buildings like the Laurie Arms pub better. A pitched roof has been added to reduce the impact of the upper level.

At the same time the design has been toned down, with a greater amount of influence from the neighbouring buildings in it, although this perhaps gives it the feeling of a hotchpotch that lacks some architectural originality.

London and Regional will be hoping for better luck this time round, not least as the business of dealing with the planning system can be an expensive undertaking.
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