Full planning permission and listed-building consent has been granted for the transformation of 27–28 Clements Lane, a Grade II-listed Victorian site in the heart of the City of London, with proposals led by Studio Moren on behalf of JMK Group.

The building is set to be transformed from an underutilised office into a design-led, luxury 180-key hotel that celebrates heritage through sensitive adaptation and contemporary craft.

Occupying a strategic site between Monument and Bank, the scheme will convert the existing structure into a hotel with a publicly accessible lounge, restaurant, café and bar at ground level.

The project will revitalise a currently underutilised building while supporting the City’s Destination City initiative to promote a more active, mixed-use Square Mile.

'This project, confidently approved under delegated powers by the City of London Corporation, exemplifies how historic buildings can evolve gracefully to meet contemporary needs. By extending and adapting the original structure, we have enabled the building to grow in a way that feels natural within its context. Our aim was to create a hotel that feels rooted in place, one that honours the City of London’s layered history while offering a new kind of hospitality experience shaped by craft, character and connection.' - Mark Wood, Partner

A new lightweight metal roof extension draws inspiration from the building’s segmental arches and the vaulted forms of the neighbouring St Clement’s Church. Its refined material palette and softly curved geometry create a confident yet contextually sensitive extension that adds additional new guestroom levels. The extension allows the building to grow to meet contemporary hospitality needs while resonating with the surrounding urban form and scale of the City of London.

The project seeks to reveal the building’s historic significance through careful reuse, restoration and reinterpretation. The building is noted by Historic England for its marble-clad facade at street level and elaborately corniced windows. Guided by a heritage-led approach, of which Studio Moren has extensive experience in the district, the design preserves and restores these key architectural features, most notably the principal Clements Lane façade, original staircases and cast-iron columns. Lost details such as decorative plaster ceilings, chimney breasts and segmental arches will be reinstated.

The site will contribute to the City of London’s Destination City Initiative, with active street frontages plus a public lounge, café and bar

At street level, the proposals reinvigorate Lombard Court and St Clement’s Court with new active frontages, accessible entrances and an animated public realm. The adaptive reuse of an existing service door as a dedicated bar and restaurant entrance will add vibrancy, improve passive surveillance and bring a renewed sense of discovery into one of the City’s most characterful lanes.

Sustainability is central to the scheme. Having recently augmented their practice to include in-house sustainability consultancy, Studio Moren led on both design and sustainability. Their design-led approach for climate change resilience includes adopting a retrofit and reuse-first approach that retains the majority of the listed building, a low-carbon approach to material specification and HVAC, roof PV, fabric upgrades, passive design measures, window planters, rainwater harvesting, a biodiverse green roof and targeting BREEAM Excellent.

These measures work in concert to mitigate flood risk, counter the urban heat island effect, create new green infrastructure for the City and visually enrich the urban environment, demonstrating that heritage adaptation and environmental responsibility can work hand in hand.

'This approval marks an exciting milestone for Studio Moren in employing our in-house sustainability expertise. We embedded complex sustainability principles into the design from the outset, streamlining the planning process and turning sustainability compliance into a collaborative opportunity to enhance environmental outcomes. This approval reflects how proactive coordination across stakeholders strengthens our design-led approach to delivering exemplary projects.' - Bryan Oknyansky, Head of Sustainability