OCEANIC HOUSE

A new life for a historic building

The restoration and conversion of the Edwardian building in Trafalgar Square comprises 6 lateral apartments and one duplex penthouse on the top two floors. These two, three and four bedroom apartments are immaculately finished to the highest standard, including Hakwood herringbone flooring, coffered ceilings and Poggenpohl kitchens. The building provides residents with a 24-hour concierge service.

Respect for history

The history of Grade II listed Oceanic House is almost tangible. The building was originally designed by architect Henry Tanner to act as a London headquarters for the White Star Line shipping company, and the place where tickets to the RMS Titanic were sold, completed in 1907. Behind these historic facades, BLDA Architects created a series of sensitively designed, upmarket apartments.

“We do a lot of work with listed buildings in London”, says project director Chris Phillips. “One of the challenging aspects is to respect the history of the building”.    

BLDA Architects has a well-established expertise in working for both developer and individual clients, in bespoke, commercial and residential developments in central London, elsewhere in the UK, and abroad.

“It’s a huge challenge to achieve the design quality that people might expect in a location like this. Judging by the reception, we succeeded”, says Phillips.

Honouring the architecture of the building itself was another challenge, says Phillips.

“Oceanic House is an Edwardian building, with high ceilings and Greek and Baroque motifs. Our task was to invoke the period of the original construction; to honour the magnificent external design by finishing the building on the inside.”

The conservation repairs undertaken at Oceanic House highlight the importance of craftsmanship and its essential role in the revival of the building. The visible results of fine craftsmanship provide an intrinsic sense of ‘luxury’.

Phillips comments; “We specifically selected the kind of materials and used the design language that would have been recognizable in Edwardian times.”

Quality details

The large format herringbone flooring in the salons, hallways and reception rooms was integral to the interior design, Phillips explains. “The floor was set out on-site to the main axis of the rooms, emphasising the key lines of sight. It was then very carefully fleshed out, to avoid small cut-outs. Thanks to the quality of the subcontractor’s work, and the quality of the product, this worked out very well indeed.”

Hakwood flooring specified:

Herringbone

Flooring:         Honest, Authentic Collection       

Grade:            Premier 1-bis

Finish:             Oil

Thickness:     20 mm

Width:             85 x 510 mm 

Plank

Flooring:         HV 1295      

Grade:            Premier 1-bis

Finish:             Oil

Thickness:     20 mm

Width:             240 mm