Buckley Gray Yeoman

UK architecture studio Buckley Gray Yeoman has revived a 1980s office building in Central London, creating colourful spaces using painted ductwork, translucent curtains and speckled terrazzo.The newly opened Panagram encompasses 4,830 square metres in the city’s Clerkenwell neighbourhood and offers rentable office spaces across multiple levels.

Buckley Gray Yeoman’s renovation of the 1980s building included creating an open and informal reception area
Using the original building’s pink granite cladding as a design cue, the team at Buckley Gray Yeoman devised a colourful scheme for the interior renovation to create a relaxed setting.
“A retro-pop aesthetic has replaced the corporate look and feel of the building as physical and metaphorical barriers are broken down to bring about a more convivial and lively set of workspaces,” said the architecture studio.

The foyer features subway-tiled seating but no reception desk

To modernise the existing architecture, glazing was added along the ground floor facing Goswell Road – a thoroughfare that is home to store locations of several prominent design brands.
Visitors enter from the street into a large open-plan foyer, furnished with custom seating elements but no traditional reception desk – hosts emerge from a behind a translucent curtain instead.

A koi carp pond sits in the centre of the tiled bench
The sculptural seats include a plinth clad in white New York City subway tiles, with a koi carp pond and a bright yellow steel column at its centre. Another is wrapped in leather and surrounds a ficus tree.

Fashion Street by Buckley Gray Yeoman

“We have tried to create an almost gallery-type space upon entry; with a series of beautiful objects set amongst planting and trees,” said Oliver Bayliss, director at Buckley Gray Yeoman.
“These accents continue throughout the building and provide moments of joy that will hopefully lift the spirits of the people who pass through.”

A wooden staircase with bleacher-style seating creates a multi-purpose space
A wooden staircase that incorporates bleacher-style seating and another ficus curves down to the garden-level, combining circulation space with an informal work, meeting or auditorium area.
Lifts illuminated with coloured lighting connect the expansive rentable office spaces on the levels above, and ductwork is painted pink and blue on alternating levels.

Lifts to the upper office levels are illuminated with coloured lighting
On the second floor, Buckley Gray Yeoman has designed a workspace to demonstrate the potential of Panagram’s spatial offering.
This model office combines pale timber, soft colours and translucent materials to continue the playful aesthetic seen downstairs.

Buckley Gray Yeoman’s showcase office for Panagram features a pale palette with pastel colours
A casual meeting area is enclosed by a sheer yellow curtain and furnished with comfy chairs, while private booths are lined in grey felt.
Drapes are also used to partition the wood-lined reception area and the green-themed kitchen if needed. In the bathrooms, white subway tiles are paired with tinted speckled terrazzo.

Colour continues in the green kitchen, which can be partitioned off with a translucent grey curtain
The open-plan office layout benefits from plenty of natural light, and is peppered with potted plants. More greenery can be found on terraces that offer City of London views.
“It’s easy to look at a building like this and assume you have to start again,” said Bayliss.
“We saw an opportunity to create something really different and highly sustainable. Panagram has great volume and therefore great natural light, which in turn allows the building to be extremely desirable and flexible.”

Panagram is located in London’s Clerkenwell neighbourhood, facing onto Goswell Road
Buckley Gray Yeoman, which has offices in London and Bristol, is known for its imaginative conversion and restoration projects. The employee-owned firm has also turned a fire-damaged former market hall in Shoreditch into Corten-clad university offices, and was profiled as part of Dezeen’s Virtual Design Festival last year.
Photography is by Jack Hobhouse.
Project credits:Client: DorringtonArchitect: Buckley Gray YeomanContractor: Open ContractsProject manager: Blackburn & CoStructural engineers: Heyne Tillett SteelPlanning consultant: JLLLandscape architect: SpacehubBranding and design agency: Everything In BetweenM&E consultant: Peter Deer and AssociatesQuantity surveyor: ExigereLighting Designer: Pritchard ThemisFire engineer: MLMRights of Light/Party Wall surveyor: Point2SurveyorsBuilding control: MLMBuilding app: Smart SpacesIT consultants: DP SystemsAgents: Colliers, Allsop, Richard Susskind & CompanyBuilding managers: Workman

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