Occupying a prime commercial site in the heart of Westminster, it was important that the re-development of Crown House into eight storeys of Grade A office space with penthouse apartments on floors nine and ten, retained the original Grade II listed façade. FDS Consult was brought on board to utilise its innovative fire engineering expertise to maximise the available floor space in both the commercial and residential aspects of the scheme and to develop a cost-effective fire strategy that would work with the layout of the building.

The building next door to Crown House was also refurbished as part of the same scheme and as the two buildings had previously shared an escape route, FDS Consult also applied the company’s creative fire design approach to this issue, ensuring that Crown House could operate successfully independently of its neighbours.

Thanks to FDS Consult’s expertise, the client was able to gain approval for the scheme and make savings of £4.2 million in construction costs and recovered floor space. The innovative fire strategy designed by FDS Consult also enhanced the saleability of Crown House by removing any security issues whilst maintaining high safety standards and a deliverable evacuation strategy.