Summers Street

Clerkenwell, London

This building was built in 1933 for the manufacture of fine printing inks. It has a steel frame structure with exceptionally high storeys capable of accommodating mezzanines and with the largest area of glass permitted under the then London Building Acts, most of it facing north. It also had exceptionally high floor loadings. In short, it was the perfect building to start the new wave of lofts brought about by a combination of the early ’90s recession and a change of heart by local authorities to such change of use. It was divided into 25 spaces with basement parking. Client: The Manhattan Loft Corporation