GROUPWORK originally proposed a building with a bronze façade in 2012, which was well received by planning case officers but not the head of conservation who preferred stone or brick.

During construction, and after Cllr Klute asked for the removal of all information referring to stone Islington's planning department could only find the brick façade was the chosen one on its website, apparently due to an error.

[3] Cllr Klute issued a ruling that the building be demolished in mid-2017 due to the error he orchestrated,[3] which the council withdrew after an inquiry from a legal team employed by Taha.

This order cited the location of the fossils within the stone façade as "[...] deleterious to the conservation area and listed buildings" due to their "haphazard" placement.

[3] In August 2019, Taha's appeal was successful when on cross examination at public enquiry the head of planning enforcement admitted they had been ordered to remove all information referring to stone.

Ann Pembroke, of the Clerkenwell Green Preservation Society made up of retired lawyers and other non experts in conservation or architecture, said she was "appalled" by its aesthetic departure from the surrounding buildings, adding that "If you want to do something outrageous don't choose a medieval close to put it in.

When the Normans first came to England, they brought limestone across the sea, wrapped in wet rags to stop it calcifying and make it easier to carve.

So we’re referencing the site’s history with the materials used.”[6]In 2018, the building was nominated by Cllr Klute for the Carbuncle Cup,[10] and was described as an "ugly fake fossil stone monstrosity" by a planning-committee councillor.