Imperial Chemical House

The building was occupied by ICI from the 1920s to the 1990s. It originally contained some 700 rooms, covering 2.8 ha, with a floor area of 34000 sqm, arranged around three large light wells. It was reconfigured internally in 1965 to accommodate staff moved from Thames House North, and divided in 1987–88 to create Norwest House, the southerly portion on 9 Millbank, and Nobel House facing Smith Square to the north. ICI moved out in 1999. Imperial Chemical House became a grade II listed building in 1981. In 1987, the listing was amended to refer to Norwest House. By 2018 Office of Gas and Electricity Markets moved out of the building. Nobel House at 17 Smith Square has been leased to the…

Imperial Chemical House has five main storeys, with a four-storey attic and pitched leaded roof. It was constructed on a steel frame, with the ground floor façades faced in grey granite. The higher floors are faced in Portland stone, rusticated on the second to fifth stories. There are 27 bays including three doors along the Millbank façade, seven bays including one door in the corner splay at the junction of Millbank and Horseferry Road, and five bays along Horseferry Road. To the rear, part of the building faces onto Smith Square. The main entrance at the centre of the Millbank façade rises two storeys, with a decorative carved stone door surround encasing a pair of large panelled doors…