One of London’s most beloved architectural icons, the Economist Plaza by Britain’s brutalist pioneers Alison and Peter Smithson, is being given new lease of life after a loving restoration by architects DSDHA for commercial real estate specialists Tishman Speyer
The complex – consisting of a raised open space, the 15-storey Economist Tower, the five-storey Bank Building and an eight-storey residential building – was acquired by its current owners in 2016, who immediately set out to refresh and restore it into a thriving, vital part of its London neighbourhood.
‘We tried to find a team that had the same aspirations as us’, says Tishman Speyer managing director Dan Nicholson, ‘and we found DSDHA. They were the right people for the project and understood what we were talking about. And they are also a husband-an-wife team, like the Smithsons. It felt like the right fit.’
The architects took on the challenge gladly. ‘It has been amazing to be in conversation with Alison and Peter Smithson over the years’, says DSDHA's Deborah Saunt. ‘They didn’t see [the Economist Plaza] as a building but as a fragment of the city. We immersed ourselves in research, anything we could find and we really understood this plaza as a place of movement.’
The Economist Building now features six floors of workspace, alongside retail and other uses, and remains true to the original architects’ vision – as befits its Grade II* listed building status. DSDHA worked towards restoring the existing fabric and incorporating new elements where needed; ones that would fit within the Smithsons’ intention.
Of course everything has been updated and brought into the 21st century with appropriate insulation, double glazing and so on, explains Saunt, who stresses that this evolution felt appropriate. ‘We found a quote by the Smithsons saying that buildings should adapt over time’, she adds, pointing out that, still, everything remains in keeping with the old designs. ‘We went back to its roots.’
The careful renovation extends to the complex’s beloved plaza, which now has a new rolling art program to match. Curator Alexander Caspari is behind the artistic direction, and the schedule kicks off with an installation by Swiss Olaf Breuning, entitled ‘Heads’.
The first sneak preview of the project was launched at the same time as the London Festival of Architecture. The building will become a highlight during the annual fair, hosting events and no doubt instigating debate about Brutalism’s architectural legacy, as well as the urban and public realms.
‘Hopefully now [the Plaza] will become a place you arrange to meet, and this renovation will put it back on the map’, says Nicholson.
In honour of its authors, and to mark this new chapter in the development’s life, the complex has now been renamed Smithson Plaza.
The former Economist Building will now house office space, alongside retail.
The interiors have been updated and brought into the 21st century.
The original plaza conisted of two towers of office space, one residential building and an elevated square that was open to the public
Photographer Michael Carapetian knew the Smithsons personally and was the first to capture the complex back when it first opened - he now returned for a new shoot to document the renovation.
Now, the publicly accessible plaza will feature a rolling art programme, whose first show is ‘Heads’ by Olaf Breuning.
Curator Alexander Caspari is behind the artistic direction of the Plaza art programme
The complex has been remained Smithson Plaza, in honour of its original architects, Alison and Peter Smithson.
The developers and architects aim for the open space to become a place where people who go, sit, meet and enjoy London.
INFORMATION
For more information visit the DSDHA website
-
Formafatal ventures deep into the Costa Rican jungle with Studio House, a spectacular retreatSet high on a forested hillside, the Studio House has far-reaching ocean views yet is completely integrated into its site
-
Peek inside Madrid’s best-kept art secretSolo’s labyrinthine new art space in Madrid presents a surreal opportunity for exploring contemporary art and architecture
-
A lush Bengaluru villa is a home that acts as a vessel for natureWith this new Bengaluru villa, Purple Ink Studio wanted gardens tucked into the fabric of the home within this urban residence in India's 'Garden City'
-
‘Belonging’ – the LFA 2026 theme is revealed, exploring how places can become personalThe idea of belonging and what it means in today’s world will be central at the London Festival of Architecture’s explorations, as the event’s 2026 theme has been announced today
-
‘Brutalist Berlin’ is an essential new guide for architectural tourists heading to the cityBlue Crow Media’s ‘Brutalist Berlin’ unveils fifty of the German capital’s most significant concrete structures and places them in their historical context
-
Join us on a first look inside Regent’s View, the revamped canalside gasholder project in LondonRegent's View, the RSHP-designed development for St William, situated on a former gasholder site on a canal in east London, has just completed its first phase
-
The Royal College of Art has announced plans for renewal of its Kensington campusThe Royal College of Art project, led by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, includes the revitalisation of the Darwin Building and more, in the hopes of establishing an open and future-facing place of creativity
-
Ursula K Le Guin’s maps of imaginary worlds are charted in a new exhibitionUrsula K Le Guin, the late American author, best known for her science fiction novels, is celebrated in a new exhibition at the Architectural Association in London, charting her whimsical maps, which bring her fantasy worlds alive
-
Power Hall’s glow-up shines light on science and innovation in ManchesterPower Hall at The Science and Industry Museum in Manchester was given a spruce-up by Carmody Groarke, showcasing the past and future of machines, engineering and sustainable architecture
-
Celebrate the angular joys of 'Brutal Scotland', a new book from Simon Phipps'Brutal Scotland' chronicles one country’s relationship with concrete; is brutalism an architectural bogeyman or a monument to a lost era of aspirational community design?
-
Three lesser-known Danish modernist houses track the country’s 20th-century architectureWe visit three Danish modernist houses with writer, curator and architecture historian Adam Štěch, a delve into lower-profile examples of the country’s rich 20th-century legacy
