A New Vision for Retail at Dolphin Square

We’re pleased to announce that planning permission has been granted for our transformation of Dolphin Square’s expansive ground floor retail offering, a key frontage along Chichester Street and a vital piece of the estate’s wider renewal. 

Developed in consultation with residents, former retail occupiers, and the local community, our design carefully balances respect for the building’s heritage with a clear-eyed view of its potential to deliver much more for residents, visitors, and the wider Pimlico community. 

This next phase builds on our ongoing involvement with the regeneration of Dolphin Square, reflecting the strength of our partnership and our growing expertise in crafting retail environments that are commercially viable, architecturally considered, and responsive to the needs of local communities. 

DOLPHIN SQUARE RETAIL HISTORY AND OPPORTUNITY  

When it was constructed in 1937, Dolphin Square was the largest housing development 

in Europe and established a new way of renting. Designed as a haven of modern comfort, it provided an extensive range of amenities including a swimming pool, squash and tennis courts, a number of restaurants, a crèche, and a retail arcade, providing all the amenities residents could ever need on their doorstep. 

Over time, the retail offering became increasingly misaligned with the needs of the people it was intended to serve. Once home to a mix of small independent units, including a greengrocer, newsagent, and hairdresser, the internal arcade struggled in recent years with declining footfall, limited visibility, and units that no longer met the operational requirements of contemporary tenants. The existing retail configuration lacked presence on the street and failed to offer the flexibility, accessibility, or visibility essential for modern neighbourhood-serving uses. More broadly, it no longer reflected the scale, character, or quality of the wider estate — a place with a unique architectural legacy and a strong sense of identity. 

Through our conversations and research, it became clear that there was both a need and an opportunity to fundamentally rethink this part of the estate and reimagine it as something far more ambitious.  

Our response was to bring new life not only to the retail spaces themselves, but to the experience of the estate as a whole. The idea was to create something generous and enduring: a retail environment that is elegant, intuitive, and welcoming; that supports a range of contemporary uses; and that genuinely serves residents, occupiers, and the surrounding community. At its core, the design is about making this stretch of Dolphin Square work — and feel — as well as it should. 

OPENING UP THE CHICHESTER STREET FACADE 

Rodney House, which forms the northern face of Dolphin Square on either side of its iconic columned entrance portico, spans the full length of Chichester Street. Despite its scale and prominence, this frontage has historically felt disconnected from the surrounding neighbourhood. Its blank façades, solid stone panels, and recessed entrances have offered little in the way of activity, welcome, or engagement with the public realm. 

Our proposal reconfigures this elevation with fully glazed, arched shopfronts, each carefully aligned beneath the building’s existing vertical window bays to retain the façade’s classical rhythm and symmetry. Bronze-toned railings replace the former balustrades and solid stone infill, introducing a lighter, more permeable edge that opens the building to the street. For retail tenants, the effect is transformative: greater visibility from the public realm ensures that what’s inside is both seen and discoverable, which is critical to driving footfall and commercial viability. 

Entrances to both the east and west wings have been relocated to central points within each block, stepped down from street level and framed by new, fully accessible ramps. These changes significantly improve accessibility for all users, whilst also helping to clarify circulation and establish a stronger sense of arrival. At a wider level, they support a range of occupiers — from healthcare providers to convenience retail — by creating premises that are welcoming, flexible, and fit for purpose. 

By opening up the façade and introducing light, transparency, and rhythm, the design transforms a once-inactive frontage into a street that contributes positively to the neighbourhood. In doing so, it enhances the daily experience of residents and visitors, whilst restoring Chichester Street as a generous and outward-looking edge to the estate. 

DESIGNING WITH HERITAGE IN MIND 

From the outset, our approach was guided by the existing character of Dolphin Square: strong architectural rhythm, carefully composed symmetry, and quiet confidence. The building’s central portico retains its role as the visual anchor on Chichester Street, with the redesigned east and west wings clearly reading as subservient elements within the overall composition. 

Rather than compete with the original architecture, the new design complements it. The arched glazing sits precisely beneath the established window bays, maintaining the building’s proportions and reinforcing its vertical order. Stone piers, bronze-coloured metalwork, and finely detailed railings mirror the tones and textures already present in the historic façade, allowing new elements to settle comfortably within their context. 

Every intervention — from the bronze horizontal banding that references the estate’s cornice line, to the placement of signage within integrated ventilation louvres — has been considered with care. The result is a coherent, confident addition that honours the building’s history whilst bringing it into step with how people live, work, and shop today. 

REIMAGINING THE ARCADE 

While the original 1980s arcade is being removed, the proposals retain and reinterpret its core social function. At the heart of each wing, a new internal loggia space acts as a light-filled threshold between the street and the retail units beyond. The organisation allows for up to three units per wing, arranged around a central corridor and configured to allow flexibility in tenant mix over time. 

These lobbies are conceived as communal interiors, echoing the original arcade through the use of curved shopfronts, rich textures, and art deco-inspired detailing, whilst offering a layout that is more open, legible, and accessible. They bring back a sense of shared space, encouraging community interaction and creating moments of pause within an otherwise linear block. 

Just as importantly, these spaces offer tenants a dual-aspect presence: both onto Chichester Street and internally within the loggia. This allows for visibility and activity on both sides, improving orientation and engagement for visitors whilst supporting commercial viability. The internal layout also accommodates operational needs, from signage and access to potential subdivision, providing the flexibility required to support a vibrant, responsive retail offer. 

DELIVERING LONG-TERM COMMUNITY VALUE 

This project goes beyond architectural upgrade to address a tangible need for better day-to-day provision at Dolphin Square and in the wider Pimlico area. The former arcade and adjacent office space had been underused for years, with previous retailers struggling due to low visibility, fragmented layouts, unclear function, and limited public access.  

The new design turns these challenges into opportunities. By creating active, accessible, and visible frontages, the scheme enhances not just the appearance of the street but its safety, amenity, and usefulness to the community. Future tenants are expected to include a grocer, healthcare providers, a dry cleaner, a veterinary clinic, and potentially an artist-led community space — uses that respond directly to the needs of a population exceeding 6,000 within the estate and surrounding neighbourhood. 

At its core, the project is about making everyday life for this London community easier, more connected, and better supported. It brings services closer to where people live, creates opportunities for social exchange, and offers a more dignified and welcoming street-level experience for all.  

PARTNERSHIPS AND GROWTH 

Our continued work at Dolphin Square reflects the strength of an evolving partnership built on trust, shared ambition, and a commitment to long-term value. What began as an architectural commission has grown into a collaborative process, where thoughtful design plays a key role in reimagining how this historic estate can better serve its residents and surrounding community. 

The retail element sits at the heart of that ambition. It offers not just commercial opportunity, but a way to bring everyday activity, visibility, and vibrancy to the estate’s edges. The project also speaks to our broader body of work in retail environments, crafting spaces that are considered, adaptable, and deeply embedded in the places they serve. We bring particular strength in unlocking the potential of complex sites, delivering flexible, commercially robust design that doesn’t compromise on character or context. 

As our portfolio continues to expand, we remain focused on the kind of retail that adds real civic value. Whether through enhanced accessibility, better visibility for tenants, or simply more beautiful, generous streetscapes, our aim is always to deliver thoughtful environments that work well, feel right, and endure over time.