Paye were appointed in 2016 to develop a methodology for the careful dismantling, repair and reconstruction of the facades of the former Canadian Embassy in support of the planning application to Westminster City Council.

The main criteria were that the façade was to be reconstructed with a monolithic appearance and no visible movement joints. Five thousand individual stones were catalogued and carefully removed from the façade along with the original bricks.

Paye designers then developed a scheme using hydraulic lime mortars and a concealed stainless-steel skeleton within the cavity wall construction to allow the load bearing five storey façade to be restrained by the new concrete frame.

New courses of stone were also discretely incorporated into the reconstructed façade to increase the overall height of the building. The rear elevation was reconstructed in a contemporary style.