Thames Wharf Studios
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Thames Wharf Studios, in
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...
, London, was originally an industrial site containing the Duckham's oil facility overlooking the
River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
in
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...
. It was acquired by the
Richard Rogers Partnership RSHP is a British architectural firm, founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. in 2007. The firm rebranded from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to simply RSHP on 30 Jun ...
in 1983, which converted the industrial complex of redundant 20th century warehouses into offices, workshops, housing and a restaurant.


History

Duckham was founded by
Alexander Duckham Alexander Duckham (11 March 1877 – 1 February 1945) was an English chemist and businessman, best known for the development of machine lubricants. The son of an engineer, after university he specialised in lubrication, working briefly for Fleming ...
in 1899 and established a good reputation in the field of lubrication for industrial machinery and motor vehicles. By the early 1920s the Duckham range of oils was officially recommended by more than 60 British car manufacturers. Production and product research had started with 10 men at a small works in Millwall. The company moved to
Hammersmith Hammersmith is a district of West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, and identified in the London Plan as one of 35 major centres in Greater London. ...
in 1921, and major expansions occurred in 1940 and 1948. Another works was established in
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
during World War II, and by the late 1960s Duckham had become the largest selling brand of motor oil in the country. The company was bought by BP in 1970, and the works at Thames Wharf were closed in 1979. The site was developed as architectural practice offices, lettable workshops and office units (within the refurbished warehouse blocks) and new housing. The
Richard Rogers Richard George Rogers, Baron Rogers of Riverside (23 July 1933 – 18 December 2021) was a British architect noted for his modernist and Functionalism (architecture), functionalist designs in high-tech architecture. He was a senior partner a ...
office's double-height entrance lobby has been developed as an informal gallery where project models are exhibited on steel racks. Throughout the building new elements are expressed in a bold industrial manner, often using primary colours. On the ground floor of the site is The River Café, which opened in 1987. The café looks out over a private landscaped area that extends to the river walkway. The two-storey rooftop extension to the office space, shaped like a 'bread bin', was designed by
Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands Lifschutz Davidson Sandilands is a practice of architects, urban designers and masterplanners established in 1986 and practising out of London. History Alex Lifschutz and Ian Davidson met working on the Hong Kong and Shanghai Bank Headquarters ...
, an architectural practice that had offices in the Thames Wharf complex but has since moved to Island Studios,
22 St Peter's Square 22 St Peter's Square, in Hammersmith, London, is a grade II listed building with a former laundry that has been converted to an architects' studio and office building. The property is situated in the western corner of St Peter's Square, that was ...
. Completed in 1991, the extension’s great semi-circular roof provides a lightweight expression of the activities carried out below.


Present day

Founder partner of the Richard Rogers Partnership and RIBA past president,
Marco Goldschmied Marco Lorenzo Sinnott Goldschmied (28 March 1944 – 7 July 2022) was a British architect best known as co-founder and managing director of Richard Rogers Partnership. He was latterly involved with running the Marco Goldschmied Foundation and ...
sold his share of the freehold interest in 2010. The remainder of the freeholds have been owned since 2007 by two Guernsey companies and a pension fund which acquired John Young and Richard Rogers' share of the freehold interests in 2007.
Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners RSHP is a British architecture firm, architectural firm, founded in 1977 and previously known as the Richard Rogers Partnership which became Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. in 2007. The firm rebranded from Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners to si ...
, formerly the Richard Rogers Partnership, remain as tenants, as do The River Café who both have leases expiring in December 2015. In 2009 the first floor office space was let by Thames Wharf Studios's consultants,
Frost Meadowcroft Frost Meadowcroft is a professional services company specialising in commercial property consultancy. Its offices are at 22 St Peter's Square former offices of Island Records and at 96 Kensington High Street. It specialises in offices and co ...
, to
Pokémon (an abbreviation for in Japan) is a Japanese media franchise managed by The Pokémon Company, founded by Nintendo, Game Freak, and Creatures (company), Creatures, the owners of the trademark and copyright of the franchise. In terms of ...
the video and card game company. Other current tenants include Green Dot Ltd, the UK subsidiary of Grüne Punkt GmbH, a Europe wide waste recycling company, Clicked Creative Ltd, a digital media company, international law firms McAllister Olivarius and HRO Grant Dawe LLP.Holme Roberts & Owen LLP - London


Notes


External links


Thames Wharf Studios on the Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners website

Thames Wharf Studios on the Toh Shimazaki Architecture website

Thames Wharf Studios on the Frost Meadowcroft website
{{Coord, 51.48379, -0.22413, display=title, type:landmark Redevelopment projects in London Buildings and structures in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham Richard Rogers buildings Wharves in the United Kingdom Office buildings in London 1980s establishments in England