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London studio SODA based the bold interiors of The Office Group’s Liberty House offices on Regent Street on the colourful prints of the adjacent Liberty London department store.The studio created the interiors for two separate, flexible workspaces in the same building, called Liberty House and Liberty Rooms.
While the designs vary in the two areas, both were informed by the classic fabric Liberty prints produced by the department store next door.
Above: warm terracotta hues were used for the interiors. Top image: arched doorways decorate the rooms
The larger workspaces of Liberty House features a calmer, more neutral palette of colours and materials than the bold event spaces and meeting rooms in Liberty Rooms.
The department store originally traded out of Liberty House, before moving one door down.
“The relationship with the Liberty’s department store was the starting point for the graphic identity and the interior concept,” SODA architect Parvathy Vipulendran told Dezeen.
“The iconic Liberty prints inspired the colour palette of the design, while the mock-Tudor building inspired the high-end retail aesthetic and crafted objects positioned throughout the scheme.”
The building hosts two contemporary workspaces, Liberty House and Liberty Rooms
The studio wanted to ensure that the interior had a coherent design language, something it thought especially important for “a building of this grandeur.” Liberty House is a Grade II-listed building.
In order to keep the interior design coherent, the studio chose to remove a number of non-load bearing walls to open the space up and create an “appropriate” sense of scale for the rooms, which include meeting rooms, focus booths, breakout spaces, lounges, private offices and a kitchen and dining area.
Cold and warm colours are mixed in the kitchen and dining area
SODA used a colour palette of neutral warm beiges for the office spaces and bolder colours, such as dark petrol blue hues, bright yellow and warm terracotta, for the more public spaces, the meeting rooms and the bathrooms.
The material use and form language inside the building was also informed by its well-known neighbour as well as by the Liberty House building itself.
The colour palette was inspired by the building and by Liberty London fabrics
“We built a core material palette that was inspired by Liberty House and the Liberty fabrics, which comprised of scalloped panelling, tiling, oak joinery and floors, reeded glass, and more functional materials such as vinyl,” Vipulendran said.
“The scalloped surfaces can be seen in the facade of Liberty House, so it was a really nice way to bring the language of the exterior internally and apply it on key joinery elements.”
Terrazzo adds pattern interest to a kitchen in warm neutral colours
The scalloped design of the house’s facade was also referenced on some of the doors inside Liberty House.
“The routing on the upper floor tea points and doors has the same rhythm as the scallop and elevate these doors above a standard office door,” Vipulendran said.
“The rhythm of these vertical lines are beautifully complemented by the lines of the curtains through the scheme.”
SODA creates contemporary MYO offices inside 1970s London building
In some of the spaces, including tea points and bathrooms, SODA chose to use Altrock and Durat terrazzo material to create more striking patterned interiors. The studio collaborated with Altrock to create bespoke coloured surfaces that would match the design.
Handcrafted objects decorate the space
As well as informing the colours and shapes of the office space, the Liberty department store also lent some of its in-store aesthetic to the interior, which features a number of hand-crafted objects throughout as well as pieces that nod to display cases.
“This is expressed most clearly in the main lounge and reception, where we used light, bright tiled surfaces to highlight key joinery objects,” Vipulendran said.
“These were inspired by the craftsmanship and the display of high-end items in Liberty. These jewel-box cabinetry pieces are arranged through the reception and lounge to create islands of social activity along the length of this open space.”
Large period windows allow light to fall into the lounge
SODA’s branding for the project also plays off Liberty London’s typeface, with an abstract pattern derived from the letters “Liberty” used to create prints on both textiles and surfaces inside Liberty House.
While the final design encompasses many different types of rooms, one stands out to Vipulendran.
“The lounge is particularly spectacular as from this space you can really appreciate the richness of Liberty House and its prominent location along Regent Street,” the architect said.
“The room comes to life in the afternoon when the sunlight falls through the big period windows and illuminates the variety of surfaces.”
SODA recently designed the interiors for a flexible workspace in a gridded 1970s building, while The Office Group’s latest London workspace prior to this one was designed by Note Design Studio.
Photography is by Ed Reeve.
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Double-height shelving and custom glass vitrines create ample storage space in this Amsterdam apartment, which was designed by local studio i29 to accommodate the owner’s vast collection of art and books.Located in a former industrial area in the north of the city, the 180-square-metre apartment is on the second floor of a residential block and belongs to a writer and art collector.
Above: double-height storage walls divide the space. Top image: they include a mixture of cabinets and open shelving
Built in 2020, the apartment block was set up as a Collectief Particulier Opdrachtgeverschap (CPO), which means collective private commissioning. In the Netherlands, this is a form of social project development in which a group of individuals act as the client for a new-build project.
The building is developed as a group and each owner buys an empty shell. They can then design and build partitions in their own apartment according to their specific needs.
A green couch anchors the open-plan living room
Local studio i29 was commissioned to create a custom interior that would showcase the owner’s expansive personal library and an art collection of around 100 pieces.
“Having such a huge collection of artworks, our client wanted only one thing: to have the ultimate display and storage space,” i29 told Dezeen. “We started making a programme of requirements and calculating the exact amount of shelving we would need.”
i29 created a mezzanine level to house two bedrooms
The designers were presented with an open loft space with double-height ceilings and no fixed layout.
On the ground floor, i29 created an open-plan space for the entrance area, kitchen and living room. A series of small sculptures are displayed on glass shelves in the kitchen, while larger artworks are placed up against the walls or mounted on them.
The apartment accommodates more than 100 artworks
A mezzanine level was inserted within the double height space, housing a bathroom, two bedrooms and an office.
Two custom-designed larch wood storage walls span the full height of the apartment and include a mixture of cabinets and open shelving. They help to create a visual connection between the two levels, while concealing an integrated staircase that runs up to the mezzanine level.
The bespoke kitchen is finished in larch wood and matt grey HPL
The bespoke kitchen and all of the cabinets throughout the apartment are finished in a combination of larch and matt grey high-pressure laminate (HPL).
The floor is made from matching resin, as i29 wanted to keep the material palette deliberately neutral in order to let the art take centre stage.
i29 and Spacon & X named interior designers of the year at Dezeen Awards
“The stark and simple spatial interventions stand in contrast to the colourful pieces of art, balancing and supplementing each other,” the studio explained.
The mezzanine also houses a home office
In a similar apartment project featured on Dezeen earlier this year, EBBA Architects used structural ash and pine joinery – including a staircase, mezzanine and double-height storage wall – to connect the levels within a refurbished, open-plan apartment in London.
Photography is by Ewout Huibers.
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In this special lookbook sponsored by natural finishes brand Clayworks, we’ve selected 10 interiors from our archives that feature walls finished with the brand’s clay plaster.Clay finishes are a healthy, breathable alternative to paints or wallpaper on internal walls and ceilings. Naturally pigmented and free of toxic ingredients, they are made of natural materials, do not require painting and are compostable.
Clayworks’ plaster finishes are manufactured in Cornwall, England. Here are 10 homes, restaurants and offices that showcase their products.
Porteous’ Studio, Edinburgh, by Izat Arundell
Design studio Izat Arundell converted this former blacksmith’s workshop in Edinburgh into a compact apartment with a muted material palette.
Clay-based plaster was applied to the walls to create a calm tone, with a simple palette of stone and wood used to create an overall natural feel.
Find out more about Porteous’ Studio ›
Birch and Clay Refugio, London, by Rise Design Studio
As its name suggests, this renovated and extended London flat called Birch and Clay Refugio makes extensive use of clay finishes.
The kitchen features light grey plaster walls, while a calming light grey-green shade was used for the master bedroom and a light pastel pink in the children’s bedroom.
Find out more about Birch and Clay Refugio ›
Sticks n Sushi, London, by Norm Architects
This London sushi restaurant by Danish studio Norm Architects was designed to have a series of spaces each with its own atmosphere.
Light clay finishes were used in the larger, more open restaurant spaces, with darker tones applied to create a more intimate feel in the private dining areas.
Find out more about Sticks n Sushi ›
Devon Passivhaus, Devon, McLean Quinlan
This low-rise Passivhaus home by McLean Quinlan is set behind a red-brick wall that obscures the textured interiors and art-filled hidden courtyard.
The studio aimed to create a “serene” environment inside the home by pairing rough sawn oak flooring with clay plaster walls and charred wood cabinetry.
Find out more about Devon Passivhaus ›
Dulong store, Copenhagen, by Norm Architects
Norm Architects combined natural materials to create a calm finish for this jewellery showroom in Copenhagen, which was informed by modernist artists’ studios.
The studio used a light clay plaster with a smooth finish as the backdrop for the store that has oak flooring and travertine furniture.
Find out more about Dulong store ›
Barbican apartment, London, by Takero Shimazaki Architects
Takero Shimazaki Architects was informed by a client with strong ties with Japan for the interiors of this apartment in central London’s Barbican estate.
Throughout the flat, the studio aimed to balance Japanese architectural language with the concrete structure of the brutalist Barbican complex. Walls finished with clay were combined with tatami mats and numerous timber finishes.
Find out more about Barbican apartment ›
Hoof cafe, Ras Al Khaimah, UAE, by Bone
Design studio Bone used rustic clay plaster for the walls of this cafe in the United Arab Emirates as part of its design that aims to recall horse stalls.
Named Hoof, the spartan cafe was furnished with blocky hand-brushed steel counters to contrast the naturally finished walls.
Find out more about Hoof cafe ›
Highgate home, London, by House of Grey
Interiors studio House of Grey chose the furnishings and finishes of this London home with the health of its occupants and the health of the planet in mind.
Along with custom-designed timber furniture and a bed upholstered using coconut husk fibres, the home’s walls are finished with natural clay.
Find out more about Highgate house ›
Leaf House, London, by Szczepaniak Astridge
Designed to be a peaceful retreat in south London, this loft extension contains a master bedroom focused on a wooden bath with views across London.
Japanese interior design, as well as sustainability, was important for the choice of materials used in the loft, which has clay covering its roof and walls.
Find out more about Leaf House ›
Clay House, London, by Simon Astridge
Architect Simon Astridge uses layers of coarse clay to line the walls of this one-bedroom apartment on the top floor of a Victorian mid-terraced property in London.
Appropriately named Clay House, the material was used to give an unfinished appearance to the walls and ceilings of the open plan living space and create a calm atmosphere in the bedroom.
Find out more about Clay House ›
This is the latest in our series of lookbooks providing curated visual inspiration from Dezeen’s image archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks showcasing green kitchen interiors, peaceful bedrooms, calm living rooms and colourful kitchens.
This lookbook was produced by Dezeen for Clayworks as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.
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