22 Baker Street is a modern addition to one of London’s most recognisable streets. Designed by Quinlan Terry, the building’s neoclassical façade conceals purpose-built offices. While its structure remained solid, the interiors had aged significantly, requiring a full-scale transformation. From the outset, we committed to retaining and reusing as much as possible, avoiding carbon-intensive downcycling and minimising reliance on waste-heavy recycling. This project pushed our approach to circularity further than ever before.
22 Baker Street
London W1
Maximising reuse, minimising waste
Material passports: a smarter way to reuse
- Detailed audits of materials, fittings, and fixtures were conducted before work began.
- Material passports tracked carbon savings and replacement costs for each reusable item.
- This upfront investment reduced emissions and streamlined future reuse processes.
Turning buildings into material banks
- Delicate deconstruction allowed us to recover and store materials, avoiding demolition waste.
- Raised floor panels were carefully removed, saving £146,160 and 121,633.6kg CO₂
- The project led to a rethink—our central London sites now act as storage hubs for future reuse.
The impact
- BREEAM ‘Excellent’ certification.
- 144kg CO₂e/m² upfront carbon emissions – our lowest yet. (RIBA A+ target: 225kg CO₂e/m², industry average: 950kg CO₂e/m²)
- 374kg CO₂e/m² Whole Life Cycle embodied carbon – exceeding the RIBA A target of 530kg CO₂e/m².
- A benchmark for sustainable refurbishment and circular economy thinking.
22 Baker Street reinforced what we already knew—retention and reuse are the most effective ways to cut carbon. It also transformed the way we approach materials, shaping a more systematic, scalable approach to sustainability.
