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Work 

Precision in architecture is an uncertain concept—there is always a degree of approximation required. Approximation bridges gaps, both literal and metaphorical. Approximation bends and breaks to cater to circumstance. Used carefully, it can recognise the potential for chaos and wilfully integrate this within an ideal whole (perhaps the closest thing possible to precision). Used artfully, it can generate fresh meaning and reveal unexpected opportunities.

To be approximate is to be tolerant. Bethnal Green Road is a tolerant site, born from messy circumstances in a part of East London that was heavily bombed during the Second World War. The resultant context is pluralistic and ad hoc. It can tolerate architecture of various scales, forms and materials.

469 Bethnal Green Road is a utilitarian building, both in conception and construction. Originally designed as a warehouse, the building is speculative by its very nature. Its functional needs, whether loads, spans or spatial configuration, are tolerant anticipating any form of future use. Unlike its neighbour—a bank—it is not representational but innately approximate. 

In its construction, the building is also ad hoc. Grey brick and block walls delineate the plot. Punched ribbon windows draw the façade. Hollow clay pots span between T-beams to define the interior carcass. Concrete piers carry the weight of it all. It is a building that is thick and thin, plain and intricate. It deserves our curiosity.

The proposed intervention extends and doubles the existing volume. Externally, the new façade is a paraphrase of the existing. Its grid is inherited from the incumbent order which regulates everything from the height of the vertical piers to their width (and the space in between). Internally, the new floors are free-spanning to match the constructional logic below but shrink in plan to align with a new structural column line. The result is a completed whole, which takes approximate measurements from the grammar of the existing condition.

Within this logic, an infinite number of permutations are possible. The building envelope, dressed in thin folded sheets of galvanised steel, consists of a careful interplay between horizontal and vertical orders. Each component operates at multiple levels (structural, environmental, spatial, contextual and/or aesthetic). Deep projecting fins are placed directly above large sliding windows and hold the outer edges, compositionally suggesting the outline of the whole. Vertical fins provide a secondary order, which corresponds to the structural load bearing system and contains perhaps the most important generative element—the bay. The bay is subsequently repeated and adjusted in a game of precise approximations across each façade.

These approximations account for localised variations that occur at all scales and at every step. In some cases, they can be quantified and anticipated. In construction, an inherently complex and unpredictable process, they can be harder to define. Constant improvisation (or approximation) is required.

The brick, as a building unit, is approximate. It is a means of achieving an overall dimension unlike frame and panel construction, which can afford to be much more precise. At 469 Bethnal Green Road, what appears regular is irregular—chaos is very near. The width between each brick pier is slightly different. No two bays are exactly the same. These variations may be anticipated and captured within the construction drawings for the façade panels which are accordingly distorted. The new is adjusted to match the incidental nature of the old. Disorder is continued in an orderly manner.

In turn, hot dip galvanising demands precision. It is an archaic process—part art, part science. Before being dipped in molten zinc, the mild steel panels are propped, dangled and stripped to allow full adhesion. When dipped, temperature and speed are key—very hot and very quick. Once dipped, the time spent in the bath correlates to the number of microns of zinc coating and so, to the longevity of the panels. Afterward, the panels are lifted, dried and carefully packed to make their way to site.

Rather like glass, it is a dry form of construction (and also very fragile). It cannot be adjusted, sawn or chiselled on site like brick. Anticipation is required to bring order. Gaps and shadows create tolerance which is crucial. Such tolerance occurs at every joint between the façade panels. These are set to a minimum where flush, and to a greater threshold where interrupted—either vertically or horizontally. The shadows resulting from the articulation of the facade soften any perceived error arising from the fabrication process and allow for supple adjustments to be made on site. Chaos is kept at arm’s length within an evolving set of rules.

Beyond repetition, anticipation, and adaptation, there is exception. Exception is a form of approximation that generates its own set of rules, gives in to the possibility of something new and invents. The corner is an exception. Here, the rules are broken as circumstance takes over. The space between the verticals is stretched. The window is narrowly avoided. The sill is omitted. The brise-soleil is contorted and axially reoriented.

The corner—an invented piece—is more approximate and more precise (and more ambiguous, too). It embodies uncertainty and imagination. Always and already surprising. Allowing for the possibility of something completely different, which has everything to do with that from which it was born.

In search of precision, it is only natural to find approximation—from the number of microns of galvanic coating to the number of folds of metal that make up the façade. Rules exist to be pushed, pulled and (exceptionally) broken. This caters for circumstance, absorbs the mess and provides the basis for invention. And if, after each and every approximation, order is still in sight, then there can be greater certainty in the whole.

Part II Architectural Assistant

Senior Architect 

Architect

Through our collaboration with artists and material experts we have tested and experimented with the possibilities that hot-dipped galvanising can provide, to reveal a material finish which offers exceptional longevity and a unique visual appearance.

Unlike ‘applied’ finishes to metal, such as polyester powder coating (PPC), hot-dip galvanising creates a metallurgic reaction which effectively fuses the molten zinc to the base steel, and becomes integral to the steel. The primary benefit of this is to increase the corrosion resistance of the steel, but it also creates a highly unique visual finish, created by the ‘spangle’ of crystalised zinc that forms on the surface of the steel.

 furthered our material research into galvanising, in the form of a small workshop building which was entirely clad in galvanised steel, extending the artist’s existing studio facilities in London.

The use of hot dipped galvanised steel as a cladding material was chosen because of its ability to be both robust as well as create an intriguing aesthetic appearance. This was achieved through a rigorous research and prototyping process, with direct engagement with galvanising plants to understand how the process of hot dip galvanising could be controlled to achieve the desired precision of panel junctions and visual appearance.

To reach the desired material finish, each galvanising test refined the base steel specification and optimised the pre-folded form of the panel, so that the finished result yielded long lasting corrosion protection and an elemental, sculptural like quality to the finished building. Newly galvanised steel appears initially bright and reflective, but slowly softens as the surfaces oxidises, increasing its atmospheric resistance over time and mellowing into its setting. The research and development of this material technique has been applied to our project in Bethnal Green, which applies the same principles on a larger, city scale. 

Testing Hot Dipped Galvanised Steel 

 has been featured in Domus' April 2025 issue which focuses on the theme of 'Metal'. Entitled 'Leggero Equilibrio/Lightweight Equilibrium', the article explores the project's innovative use of aluminium and was selected for the issue by Domus' 2025 guest editor, Bjarke Ingels. 

Published in Domus n. 1100, 2025 - Courtesy of Archivio Domus - © Editoriale Domus S.p.A.

Together with Shedkm and MAX Architects, we have been granted planning approval by Wandsworth Borough Council for a major redevelopment of the old Wandsworth Gasworks.

The project aims to transform the former west London gasworks into 620 homes, a riverside park and entertainment space. Drawing inspiration from Wandsworth's history, the new design will rejuvenate the site with environment, community and heritage in mind.

Within Shedkm's wider masterplan, Carmody Groarke will contribute 178 homes and 789m² of retail space, reviving the previously derelict site.

Nestled into the bankside of a riverbend beside a railway bridge, the design is shaped by the confluence of natural and infrastructural components. The tall, multi-residential building aspires to nurture a place-making quality in response to its unique setting, while retail spaces tucked into the railway arches further encourage community activation.

Carmody Groarke has transformed a former 1970s textile workshop on Bethnal Green Road into a contemporary, low-carbon workspace, offering a compelling model for urban reuse. Once slated for demolition, our client Unity Land recognised the potential to retain, reuse and reinvent the building. The result is a deep retrofit strategy that prioritises sustainability, structural retention, and architectural clarity.

This part of East London was heavily bombed during the Second World War, resulting in streetscapes characterised by fine-grain plots that vary in height, style, and age. Its urban tapestry— born from the speculative development of irregular plots— is unquestionably part of London’s high street character but it also recalls parts of other cities such as New York’s Soho district, with its skinny-framed buildings jostling for attention.

The project preserves and extends a grey-brick warehouse, doubling its usable area with a lightweight galvanized steel and Douglas fir addition. Adding three new storeys to the height of the existing structure increases the presence and improves the proportions of the corner building. Set on a narrow site above a Central Line vent tunnel, the design for the corner site retains the full concrete frame and foundations which now support a materially distinct but spatially consistent structure that replaces concrete with more sustainable components.


The result is a building that balances robustness with adaptability. Approximately 2,200 sqm of flexible workspace has been created, with minimal intervention and a focus on long-term efficiency. A striking new galvanised steel façade — just 3mm thick — is shaped into deep window reveals and horizontal fins, providing passive solar shading and a sense of depth to the façades, giving the whole ensemble a new elegance and gravity with very sparing use of material. This new façade responds to and complements the retained grey-brick base, yielding a coherent architectural expression that is both contemporary and contextual.

Internally, the layout is designed for future-proof adaptability. Free-spanning floors, modular fit-outs, and restrained finishes contribute to reducing lifecycle costs while maximising flexibility. Natural light is prioritised throughout, achieved through the use of sliding doors as windows. Exposed galvanised steel and Douglas fir timbers reference the site’s industrial past while simultaneously creating a warm, modern working environment reminiscent of a contemporary warehouse.


The ground floor has been opened up to reengage with the street, transforming a once-closed frontage into an active edge. Designed with flexibility in mind, the commercial unit can support a range of tenants, creating a vibrant threshold between the building and its urban context.


The entrance sequence has been completely reimagined to promote accessibility and visibility. A newly introduced staircase links all levels, while provisions for active commuting — including secure bike storage, showers, and changing facilities — reflect the project’s sustainability ethos.

The environmental strategy combines passive and active measures. By retaining the entire concrete frame, the design avoids the significant embodied carbon of new construction, instead focusing on low-carbon materials and reversible construction. The extension's components are bolted and demountable, allowing for future disassembly and reuse. Passive measures such as internal insulation, optimal glazing, and natural ventilation support year-round energy efficiency, supplemented by electric and renewable energy sources.


A BREEAM Excellent rating is being targeted, with post-occupancy evaluation planned to assess real-world performance. Designed with a 50-year lifespan in mind, this project provides a replicable model for workspace regeneration in dense urban contexts.


As a project, 469 Bethnal Green Road is a strategic act of addition rather than erasure — redefining the role of the existing building within East London and extending its life and civic presence with minimal material use. It becomes a prototype for buildings found on every high street.

469 Bethnal Green Road

A competition winning proposal by Carmody Groarke and Sheppard Robson for the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) reimagines Bankside House as a place for affordable, healthy and socially rich student life. The project responds to LSE’s ambition to provide exceptional student accommodation in one of the most vibrant parts of London, directly behind Tate Modern. The building will positively contribute to the London skyline marking a visible commitment to high-quality student living in the heart of the city.

At the centre of the proposal is a simple but powerful question: how can a large group of students live well together? The response is both architectural and social. Rather than a single structure, the accommodation is conceived as three distinct buildings—three ‘houses’—each forming a community of around 650 students. Together they support a diversity of experience while fostering a strong sense of belonging.

This tripartite structure allows the project to maintain the intimacy and identity of smaller-scale living while meeting the large-scale demands of the brief. Each building will have its own character and its own social heart allowing students to identify not only with the wider LSE community but also with their own ‘house’.

Together, the three houses form a new urban cluster, cascading to frame the Tate Modern chimney as the centrepiece of the Southbank composition from Millenium Bridge. The spaces in between the houses are aligned to relate to major city landmarks of St Paul’s Cathedral and Tate Modern.




The houses are given a unified composition against the city skyline by their light-coloured precast facades and are grounded by a continuous base of Portland stone, whilst the pavilions are made from wood, giving a warm, welcoming character inside.

The triangular plan form of each house is composed of three bars, with each bar made up of different student room types. A student common room on each level is orientated to panoramic views of the Thames, from the Houses of Parliament to the City of London.

Between these three houses, two-storey pavilions at ground level accommodate the entrance hall and shared student amenity spaces. These pavilions bring the buildings to the ground, reinforcing the architectural rhythm and providing a communal threshold between each ‘house’.

A shared entrance, a collective threshold


Although expressed as three separate buildings, the scheme is unified at ground level by a shared arrival sequence. All residents and visitors enter through a single entrance hall—accessed via multiple doors—which acts as a collective threshold between the city and the student community. Oriented between the LSE campus and Tate Modern, this generous 24-hour ground floor is conceived as a ‘living room’.

Amenity and social spaces are distributed across the three buildings, supporting smaller, more manageable clusters within the larger whole. The interconnected lower floors and accessible garden terraces extend this sense of shared community and continuous movement through the site.

The design aspires to the highest standards of environmental and social sustainability. It targets Passivhaus certification, BREEAM Outstanding and WELL certification. These ambitions speak to a broader vision of student life that values comfort, health and long-term environmental responsibility as foundations for academic success and personal wellbeing.

Architectural Assistant

Studio Assistant 

Founded in the 14th century, the BnF houses the French national library collection, comprising over 40 million documents including 15 million books and journals, as well as manuscripts, prints, photographs, maps, coins, medals, videos and sound documents. The collection is stored within two central locations in Paris and a network of smaller sites throughout the city. 

Over the past three decades, the facilities have struggled to keep apace with evolving standards of collection care, and with the repositories projected to reach capacity, the BnF requires a completely new archive to accommodate the growing collection. In response to these challenges, the new conservation centre aims to create a world-class archive for the preservation of French cultural heritage, setting a new standard for excellence in library conservation and management.

The project comprises two buildings within a 11,000m2 masterplan: a 180m-long passive archive building for state-of-the-art collection storage and a bespoke timber framed office building for people and conservation processes. Located on the former Amiens hospital north site, the initiative forms part of an urban plan to establish a new cultural centre to the north and create a civic landmark in Amiens.

The archive building will store and protect the renowned French national library collection, one of the oldest in the world. The building will contain a vast single room with fully automated storage and retrieval systems operated by state-of-the-art robotic technology. It will provide over 280 linear kilometres of storage space within a low-oxygen environment to protect the collection from fire and water damage. 

The building will be highly airtight to create passive temperate control, significantly reducing energy consumption in operation. Externally, the building features an expressive steel exoskeleton encased in stainless steel mesh. The super-airtight and lightweight structure provides all-weather protection for the collection inside and gives the building a distinctive identity and presence. 

Innovative engagement strategies will increase public interaction with the collection by incorporating a viewing gallery into the west end of the building. The gallery will offer visitors and users a unique opportunity to look into the archive, revealing the robotic automation systems within.

The workplace building is strategically placed in front of the archive with elevated views back to the city centre landmarks. The building will allow for modern digitisation of the historic collection and day-to-day collection care and management. The building will be structured with low-carbon timber and will feature a large courtyard in the centre to provide natural light, open green space and better connectivity between floors.

Director Andy Groarke was interviewed by Pamela Buxton for the RIBA Journal Contacts Book series, where he discussed the practice's focus on materiality and craft, highlighting key collaborators.

Andy mentioned the practice’s work with Hargreaves Foundry and Local Works, emphasising their role in material innovation, as well as long-time partner Harry Montresor for specialist façade design. He also recognised Elemental for their airtightness solutions, showcasing how these collaborations have been instrumental in shaping the practice's projects.

Associate Director Lukas Barry recently spoke to Tom Larsson, Grow Places and Dominique Staindl, South Facing, discussing the unique challenges and wider creative opportunities within the historic Truman Brewery site and our approach to heritage, conservation and environmental sustainability.

Director Andy Groarke recently delivered a lecture at The Berlage, Tu Delft entitled ‘Taking Care of Matters’.

The lecture began with an introduction to a number of key themes and guiding principles that run through the studio's work, including the lifespan of temporary and permanent projects, the adaption and reuse of existing buildings, the relationship between artists and architects and the accumulation of references and precedents that influence the character of a building.

This was followed by a conversation on the design and construction of two significant projects, 

The proposal retains as much of the existing 1980s office building as possible. Strategic zones of the highly optimised pre-stressed concrete structure are removed to introduce light and air into the deep floor plan.

The three-storey timber extension and new five-storey pavilion building maximise the potential loading of the existing structure without major alterations to the existing foundations.

The existing building presents itself as a fortress to the city, raised on a podium above ground level that prevents any access through the site. Three new ramps connect the surrounding streets to a podium level courtyard filled with low level planting, semi-mature trees and new public uses.

Dual aspect apartments are arranged around a series of garden courtyards and roof terraces. Generous external decks create space for sociable chance encounters between neighbours.

Three new legible street addresses connect visitors to four levels of existing basement. Cavernous existing spaces previously built as plant rooms and car parking are accessible for new public and cultural activities.

The existing commercial identity of the building is altered by wrapping balconies around its perimeter and the addition of duplex apartments as a barrel-vaulted crown. The highly rusticated solid horizontal bands provide each apartment with its own external balcony and create an acoustic buffer from the road below.

The site that Warnford Court sits on dates from the mid 17th Century, when the Square Mile emerged as a major centre of trade and commerce. Today the current four-storey stone building, built in 1884, is overshadowed by the post-war commercial developments that have been increasingly superimposed onto the historic scale of streets and alleyways that surround the Bank of England. Warnford Court remains as an outlier in architectural scale and character and provides rare streetscape views with open skies and connection to one of the few remaining pocket gardens within the City.

The project doubles the useable area of the existing office building, through the addition of a stepped ziggurat roof extension. The proposed building form minimises overshadowing to the street and provides richly planted external terraces, as well as much needed greening to the City.

The building’s environmental performance will be upgraded to modern use, with the new floors designed to be naturally ventilated spaces. The proposals maintain the legibility of the historic building, threading new structure through the existing rear lightwells, and balancing lightly on the perimeter loadbearing stone walls.

Structural innovation and façade composition

The façade reconciles the formal character of the new frame above with the intricate pattern of windows and pilasters below. The façades will be made from limestone ashlar with a high fossil content, in contrast to the smooth face of the existing stone, giving a sedimentary hierarchy to the new masonry.

Warnford Court 

When faced with the common challenge of an architectural brief with high ambitions and a low budget, young practices often resort to unorthodox ways of making a project happen.

One such strategy is using materials that were not intended for the building industry. At Carmody Groarke, this curiosity in experimenting with unexpected or even ‘low-culture’ materials has helped us stay close to the craft of making architecture: whether it’s improvising architectural 

 with the rigging familiar to rock band roadies; or sheathing 

 in the industrial chainmail used in abattoir protective equipment; or even taking glass reinforced plastic (GRP) from the boat-builder’s yard to adorn our 

We first experimented with the use of GRP as an architectural finish on our project for a temporary events space - the 

, completed in 2013. The Filling Station was located within the heart of the King’s Cross district in London, an area undergoing massive regeneration, shifting from its post-industrial past to become a vibrant mixed-use office and higher education hub. The site, alongside the Regent’s Canal, was a long and thin triangular plot located at the junction of two busy roads. Formerly used as a petrol station, it had a simple and pragmatic character. The brief for the project was to transform the residual structures into a hospitality space, featuring a small restaurant and outdoor space for cultural events.

The central architectural challenge was to create an inspiring and usable events space in an otherwise inhospitable location. Through design studies the idea of using a ‘screen’ emerged, which could offer both acoustic protection from the traffic and prevailing winds as well as create an arresting visual identity for the temporary project. The screen was intended to partially envelop the open forecourt of the former petrol station, creating a semi-enclosed space that utilised the existing canopy as a roof.

In order to create an optimum level of comfort, it was determined that the protective screen should be over 3m (10ft) high. Due to the presence of shallow petrol storage tanks and transport tunnels under the ground slab, which prevented structural anchors being placed into the ground, the screen would need also to be structurally self-supporting. Furthermore, the Filling Station was conceived as a ‘meanwhile’ project – the temporary and opportunist use of a vacant lot, later to be ‘permanently’ developed as part of the wider Kings Cross redevelopment. The budget and construction process needed to be proportionate therefore to its lifespan of between 3-5 years.

We tested several materials for the screen, from corrugated metal sheets to stretched textiles – each discounted due to its lack of durability or structural integrity, or excessive cost – before the chance encounter with a boat builder led us to the idea of using Glass Reinforced Plastic.

Glass Reinforced Plastic (GRP) or ‘Fibreglass’ as it is commonly known, is a composite plastic material made from the combination of a synthetic glass strand fabric sheet bound together with a thermosetting resin plastic – often an epoxy resin. The flexible synthetic glass fabric can be laid in sheet form or into complex moulds, with the resin applied to cure-in-place the GRP into bespoke shapes. The resulting composite material gains strength from the hard-setting resin which is reinforced with the synthetic glass strands, rather like structural concrete with reinforcement bar. However, unlike other hard-setting structural materials, the recipe of GRP can be adapted to be vividly coloured, transparent, translucent, or opaque, and has fascinating optical qualities because of its material makeup.

The designs developed for the screen exploited the material characteristics of GRP, which were elevated in turn to form the architectural identity of the project. To solve the problem of the site’s enclosure we needed to create a screen height of over 3m without significant sub-structure, in a form that would give integrity with as little weight as possible. Through the physical testing of forms which at 3.5m high could be rigid and self-supporting, the concave shape with flange returns was evolved. When repeated to make a contiguous screen, this resulted in a continuous, lyrical, fluted architectural form.

The material density of GRP is extremely low – around 1.4g/cm3 (compared to concrete at 2.3g/cm3, glass at 2.70g/cm3 and steel at 7.75g/cm3) – and it has a relatively high tensile strength, meaning it can be made into large rigid shapes which touch the ground relatively lightly. Furthermore, because of the way it is made – as a composite of laid glass textiles and bound with clear resin – it has a high light transmission, usually over 50% (depending on the resin used).

It was this light transmissive quality that became the architectural identity of the project. The materiality of the translucent screens took on very different characteristics in natural and artificial light and provided a strong identity for the site, by day and by night. By day, the GRP panels had an unexpectedly solid, cementitious appearance. At night however, a lamp backlit each panel to make them appear to glow, revealing their textile buildup.

The hand-made quality of the screen was achieved by the layering of rolled-on resin and glass fabric sheets into a mould. The shape and profile of this plywood mould created the structural integrity of the GRP panel’s cast form. Forming the material against this mould results in a clear smooth face on the side in contact with it, and on the other a rough texture that bears the layers of resin bound fabric. The imperfections incurred by this hand-laid process refract incident light, highlighting tiny bubbles and giving an opalescent tone reminiscent of the material’s petrochemical origins. The artisanal effect challenges the perception of plastics as a pristine, mechanically engineered material.

The completed project showcased GRP as an innovative and unique option for architectural finishes. Against materials more typically used in external cladding or decorative applications, GRP becomes an attractive option due to its high durability, aesthetic variability, and relatively low cost. Its cost is derived from GRP being the composite of two relatively inexpensive materials, plus its low fabrication threshold.

The material characteristics of the binding resin gives each panel a high resistance to water absorption (0.2%) and a low UV deterioration rate. Furthermore, the lamination of strong glass-synthetic reinforcement with the high strength of set resin gives the material a resilience to impact, and shatter resistance. In the context of the Filling Station, with its high volume of passing traffic, these performance characteristics made GRP the choice material.

The strength of the material is created from the chemical bond that occurs when thermosetting resin creates irreversible cross-link bound polymers, which fuse together with the fabric sheets. This gives the material its long life and durability, but it is also its significant drawback. Thermoset plastics such as epoxy resin are impossible to re-shape or reuse – unlike thermoplastics which can be melted and reformed. Perhaps more concerning is the potential long-term environmental impact of microplastics, which essentially never go away. This is an important consideration when thinking of the sustainable possibilities of GRP as architectural finish. The proposed application of a material with an extremely long-life span on a temporary project raised an obvious contradiction.

Work

Covent Garden ApartmentDomus

Covent Garden Apartment

Precise ApproximationsJerome Wren

Dulwich Picture Gallery

Hill House Box

Permanence is a PrivilegeAndy Groarke, Kevin Carmody

Carmody Groarke A+U 264

British Library, Boston Spa

Science and Industry Museum Masterplan

Adaptive ReuseLukas Barry

Milan Giovenale

Bibliothèque nationale de France Conservation Centre

Truman BreweryGrow Places Podcast

Scaffold, Episode 78Architecture Foundation

Design Museum Gent