tarisio london, ulster terrace
Location
Regent's Park, City of Westminster, London
Designation
Grade I listed, Regent's Park Conservation Area
Building
John Nash terrace, c1824
client
Tarisio
scope
Fit out for a violin auction house, with auction gallery, practice room and luthier's workshop
RIBA stages
1 to 7
Tarisio opens its workshop and auction gallery to visitors inside John Nash’s Grade I listed Ulster Terrace.
Tarisio’s new London headquarters sits within Ulster Terrace, a Grade I listed terrace designed by John Nash, who laid out Regent’s Park and Regent Street and remodelled the Royal Pavilion in Brighton for King George IV. The address suits an organisation whose fine violins and bows have been gathered from across the world, made by renowned makers and played by celebrated violinists.
Each instrument rests briefly at Tarisio to be cared for and restored before it moves to a new home, where the next chapter of its story begins. 4SA treats the historic buildings they work with the same spirit. The commercial units in this terrace have had many past occupants before the spaces were left tired and vacant. 4SA’s careful approach to its refurbishment prepared it for its next chapter as Tarisio’s London headquarters and auction house, adding a new page to its history.
design Response
In line with Tarisio’s brief to make their internal processes more visible, visitors see the business at work as soon as they step inside. To the right, a full height glazed slot window gives a first glimpse into the auction gallery and its bow window with views of Regent’s Park beyond. To the left, a glazed partition lets visitors watch a luthier (a maker and repairer of stringed instruments) restoring rare and antique violins and bows. A new sweeping curved partition then guides visitors into the main space, with access through full height glazed partitions to the auction gallery on the right and to the chief executive’s office on the left. An acoustically isolated practice room, alongside a lower ground floor photographic studio for photographing instruments before auction, secure storage and office space, this completes the functional brief.
Read more about the Cat A refurbishment of the remaining commercial spaces in this elegant Grade I listed building.
Sustainability
4SA was already delivering the Cat A refurbishment of the other commercial spaces in the building when Tarisio pre-let the unit. As 4SA knew the building in detail, they were in the ideal position to help Tarisio with an expedited concept design programme. This allowed Tarisio’s requirements to be built into the base build as it progressed, rather than have Cat A finishes installed and then removed afterwards to suit their needs. That not only saved cost and time, but avoided material waste and the embodied carbon of replacing finished work. It also brought in what Tarisio wanted, including a coffee coloured timber floor that sets off the tone of the instruments, and new partitions.