20 years of defining projects – Grain House

Over the past 20 years, certain projects have helped define not just what we do, but how we do it. One such landmark moment for Knight Harwood was our first collaboration with Hines UK Limited, the comprehensive refurbishment and extension of Grain House on Drury Lane in Covent Garden.

This heritage-led scheme involved the careful transformation of five adjoining buildings along one of London’s busiest urban streets. By blending flexible leisure, retail and hospitality spaces at lower levels with high-quality commercial headquarters above, the project successfully responded to both the character of its historic context and the demands of modern workplace environments.

Key elements that define the success of the project include:

Flexible, engaging leisure, retail and hospitality spaces at street level that enhance the building’s Covent Garden presence.

Commercial headquarters and Cat A office environments on the upper floors that accommodate varied tenant needs.

Sensitive restoration of original architectural features, drawing on the building’s light industrial heritage while elevating its contemporary appeal.

Delivering Grain House with Hines set a strong precedent for how we integrate heritage-driven design with ambitious structural and spatial interventions, a methodology that continues to inform our work today.