Join us as Groupwork founder Amin Taha presents the development of 168 Upper Street on Dezeen Architecture Project Talks. Sign up to the webinar on Friday 2nd July at 1pm to discover the history behind the landmark building which houses our One.Six.Eight showroom.
The Story of One.Six.Eight
Aria commissioned the project in 2012, after launching a design competition for proposals, selecting Groupwork’s vision to interweave the site’s historic roots with cutting-edge construction processes.
The 1:1 cast monument has become a landmark building on Upper Street, utilising digital technology and innovative construction techniques to pay tribute to the past. The building’s striking terracotta facade pays homage to the Victorian terrace which previously occupied the spot, before it was lost during WWII.
Groupwork were awarded the RIBA London prize for One.Six.Eight in 2019, along with the Architect’s Journal Award in the same year, for Best Multi-Use Space.
A virtual model of the vanished building was created using historic photographs, subsequently altering the digital file to reinvent the site for the 21st Century. The digital drawings were then used to create an expanded-polystyrene cast, into which terracotta coloured concrete was poured.
Retrospective Interiors
The apartments housed within the upper floors of the building echo the retrospective nature of the façade with areas of exposed concrete, imprinted with ornate Victorian-era wallpaper patterns. Windows punctuate the structure with offset positioning between the interior openings and exterior details.
By Jennifer Ring