Julian Bicknell Associates - Architecture of Fine Quality

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THE GEORGIAN CLUB, TOKYO

The Georgian Club was completed in 1995 on a very limited site in central Tokyo close to Ropponghi Avenue, famous for its prestigious restaurants. The building is imagined as the London house of a mythical late-l8th Century aristocratic family.

It offers members and their guests the opportunity to experience the dining and reception facilities of such a house or those of a traditional London Club. The accommodation is centred round a spacious and elegant dining room for 50 guests, and includes a bar, a members sitting room, a guest suite, a library and an apartment for the owner and his family with a roof terrace and private swimming pool.

The building is of painted concrete designed to the demanding standards of the Japanese earthquake code. Many of the details, both interior and exterior, were supplied from the UK: the columns, cornices and urns of the street facade; the decorative ironwork inside and out; the plasterwork and staircases; the fireplaces, furniture and fabrics - making the building a showcase for British craftsmanship, design and manufacture.

The design team included ArFam, Tokyo as co-architects and the interior designer Mary Fox Linton. The project was co-ordinated by Ove Arup & Partners (Japan) Ltd who also acted as structural and services engineers. The building was constructed by the Shimizu Corporation and the interiors fitted by Mitsukoshi.

Julian Bicknell & Associates is a London based architectural practice of thirty years standing, specialising in quality buildings, interiors and landscapes - mainly in classical or traditional style. The practice has worked for private clients and developers all over the UK and in Japan, Russia, the USA, Morocco, Germany and Kazakhstan. The work includes spacious country houses, luxury homes on the prestige estates at Wentworth and St. Georges Hill, museums, restaurants, theatres, schools, a golf club and modifications to important historic buildings. The design philosophy combines a deep sympathy for traditional design and building methods, with a full understanding of energy strategies and construction management. The practice works closely with other professionals and experienced craftsmen to achieve low-energy buildings of real quality within predetermined budgets.