The site at Hopewell Yard was first established as an early Victorian omnibus terminus. At the centre of the transport nexus, the bus route improved the ancient link between Southwark and the City and onto the West End.

It was not until 1990 that David Quigley’s imaginative design gave the site renewed purpose and flair. Working with the original Victorian structure, Quigley developed a courtyard design celebrating the original proportions of the space and referencing its quirks, like the remaining horse ramps. The decorative exterior elevations are characterised by polychromatic brickwork, brightly coloured balustrades and window frames, and the luminescent render composed of crushed seashells. Together they establish a richly textured façade described by the architect as “urban wallpaper”; accentuating the art deco motifs repeated throughout the design.

The unapologetically postmodernist design was thoughtfully executed by Quigley, who previously worked with Farrell and Grimshaw on Charles Jenck’s Thematic House, an excellent example of postmodernist domestic architecture.

He went on to work with Robert Venturi, champion of the postmodern movement, who undertook the Sainsbury Wing extension at the National Gallery. Venturi’s seminal work Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture offered a strong riposte to the modernist credo ‘less is more’, promoting the philosophy ‘less is a bore’. Certainly, his influence is seen in the celebration of decorative detail, which characterises Quigley’s work at Hopewell Yard and his other residential work like Grange Walk in Bermondsey.