// John Lewis begins renovation of Peter Jones’ curved glass façade, ground floor shop windows & canopy
// It will also create a new, larger, more accessible entrance to the shop on King’s Road
// There are also “opportunities in the future” to reconfigure the 6th floor into a restaurant, viewing terrace or horticultural concession
Peter Jones’ façade is set to undergo a major facelift as John Lewis begins renovation works on the Chelsea department store, which could also see the sixth floor reconfigured.
John Lewis had received planning permission for the works in May last year following a public consultation involving the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Cadogan Estates, Historic England, local residents and businesses.
The new works will include a renovation of Peter Jones’ curved glass façade, ground floor shop windows, entrances and canopy.
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The works will also create a new, larger, more accessible entrance to the shop on King’s Road which will draw customers into the central atrium.
There are also plans to introduce an installation of light, shadow and movement that is responsive to the environment – such as wind, rain, sunrise and sunset – to reanimate the façade.
John Lewis also said it has been granted planning permission for “opportunities in the future” to reconfigure the sixth floor of Peter Jones.
This includes creating a dedicated restaurant, a food hall, interior conservatories for use by the public and for staff, a viewing terrace, and a horticultural concession offering customers the opportunity to buy plants from the John Lewis Partnership’s Leckford Estate.
The retailer added that there was “potential” to also open up the seventh floor to the public, with access to a garden terrace where customers can enjoy a drink with views across central London and Battersea Power Station to the south.
“Our shops will always be important and this refurbishment forms part of our broader plans to rebalance our estate, which includes investing in our flagship stores,” John Lewis executive director Pippa Wicks said.
“Peter Jones is widely seen as the birthplace of the John Lewis Partnership when it opened in 1935 and has served the community as the corner shop for Chelsea locals since the day it opened.
“We want to reinvigorate the shop as a public asset, loved by those who live next to it.”
John Lewis Partnership property director Chris Harris said: “We’re taking a heritage-first approach to the renovation of Peter Jones with the aim of bringing to life John Spedan Lewis’s lost visions for his first shop in the John Lewis estate.
“Our ambition is to not just maintain the status quo but to place value on the importance of this building as a partnership, heritage and public asset.
“Within the context of current challenges in retail, we will rejuvenate the exterior of the department store and find future opportunities for new experiences for our customers so that it flourishes for years to come.”
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