New Court | OMA - Office for Metropolitan Architecture

New Court [ENG] [ENG] - This new corporate headquarters, the fourth iteration of the Rothschild’s London home since 1809, consolidates the Bank’s previously dispersed facilities within one building but also makes a number of important urban moves. It reinstates the historic visual connection between St Swithin’s and Christopher Wren’s neighbouring Church of St Stephen Walbrook, hidden from public view by the previous New Court developments. The new building is organised into a central cube surrounded by three adjoining annexes and a rooftop tower. It is lifted on pilotis above street level to allow views of church and churchyard through a covered entrance square. This sequence of new public realm and vistas gives a quiet public presence to this previously private institution. The attention to detail and combination of materials used throughout the building gives a sense of understated elegance. This is heightened by the considered contrast of carefully displayed original artefacts alongside the quirky use of super-scale graphics drawn from the Rothschild’s collection of fine and decorative arts.