Built in the 1870s, this was one of the earliest pavilion-block workhouse designs in England. In 1896, Charles Chaplin, (then aged seven) briefly became an inmate of the Lambeth Workhouse, which was renamed Lambeth Hospital in 1922. The former workhouse administrative block is now a cinema museum. The 99-foot tall Venetian-Gothic water tower has 5-foot thick walls and is crowned with a huge steel water tank. In 2008, it was derelict and in dire need of repair when Leigh Osbourne and Graham Voce bought it for £395,000. The renovation project was documented on the 100th episode of the British architectural programme, Grand Designs. Renovation started at the top of the tower, converting the water tank into a room with 360 degree views over London.
A contemporary extension with glass & brick corridors was built up. The nine-floor property now features rainwater harvesting, an air source heat pump, intelligent lighting, lift and large glass doors. It comprises five double bedrooms, four bathrooms and a glass ‘link’ to the ‘cube’. This new structure, clad in ALUCOBOND® Anthracite Grey, contains a bright open kitchen and dining area, a living room with projection TV as well as a gym, cellar and garage. Incredibly, the entire construction work only took eight months.
Thinking of Bauhaus Berlin is automatically associated with Gropius. Now, Berlin has another association: The new building of the Bauhaus AG by Müller Reimann Architects. The new building is a warehouse construction with an extravagant façade and has the prominent address Kurfürstendamm 129a.
