The Bower reinvents a collection of underperforming buildings that were constructed in the 1960s and incongruously overclad in the 1980s into a coherent mix of workspace, ground floor retail/restaurants and a new public realm. Addressing the 60s slab architecture, the tallest building is stripped back, extended and given a new façade. The two large volumes that are added to its sides not only rescale the building in relation to the city, they provide double-height zones to augment the office floor plates. On the ground floor, a generously-sized portion of the largest building is cut out to create a pedestrian link from Old Street through to Baldwin Street. The project extends AHMM’s involvement in the overall regeneration of the Old Street area; a part of London that is quickly becoming East London’s Tech City.