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      Henley Halebrown creates Bauhaus-informed offices in converted London warehouse

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      The colours and craft techniques of the Bauhaus movement were the inspiration behind Laszlo, a century-old warehouse building transformed into workspaces by London studio Henley Halebrown.

      Located in north London, the renovated building now contains five floors of flexible offices, ranging from 482 square metres up to 647 square metres.
      Structural elements are left exposed through Laszlo’s interiorsHenley Halebrown approached the project differently to a standard office conversion.
      Instead of a “shell and core” approach, where tenants have no choice but to complete a fit-out, the architects have made spaces that can be occupied simply as they are.
      They did this by exposing the building’s internal structure – its concrete floor slabs and steel I beams – and bringing order to the elements around. Services are neatly organised, while low-tech materials like concrete and timber are used to make adjustments.

      Offices are designed to require minimal additional fit-outStudio founders Simon Henley and Gavin Hale-Brown describe the approach as seeking “to illustrate how elementary the construction of an office might be”.
      The idea is that companies would only need to add their own branding, plus furniture, which would significantly reduce the amount of waste generated when tenants move out.

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      “Working on adaptive reuse buildings like Laszlo is second nature to us as a practice,” said Henley.
      “It builds on our interest in how you create new layers of life within a city while celebrating both its past and future, and of course, the great thing is that the huge environmental benefits that come through reuse are now more widely understood.”
      Geometric graphics signal the building’s change of useOriginally known as Batavia Mills, Laszlo was built in the early 20th century as a facility for manufacturing and printing, although it also served as storage for gas masks during the second world war.
      The Bauhaus become an obvious point of reference for the renovation; not only does it date from the same period, but its core ethos was about being true to materials and finding beauty in craft.
      A steel and timber joisted roof is now exposed on the fourth floorA painting by Bauhaus artist Laszlo Moholy Nagy – who the building is named after – provided the cues for repairs made to the concrete floors.
      There were various gaps created where partition walls had been removed. Instead of infilling these with concrete, Henley Halebrown chose an earth-coloured screed that highlights these marks as traces of history.
      Doors throughout the interior borrow tones from Josef Albers’ colour studiesThe building refers to the colour studies of Bauhaus teacher Josef Albers with a series of doors painted in bold but complementary shades of green, yellow, grey and blue.
      Another Bauhaus reference can be found on the exterior, where the brickwork and glazing have been subtly decorated with the same graphic shapes and lettering that give the building its brand identity.
      The reception features a desk shaped like an I beamLaszlo offers various amenities to its tenants, including a large outdoor seating area, bicycle parking and showers. There are also shared spaces on the ground floor, including a reception and an area known as the living room.
      Furniture in these ground floor spaces is designed to feel like part of the structure, with highlights including a reception desk and bookshelf that both look like giant I beams.
      A living room with kitchen is shared by all tenants”Within the framework of the original structure, we composed a series of unconventional spaces with conventional building materials, mostly blockwork, lintels and paint,” said Jack Hawthorne, an associate at Henley Halebrown.
      “These spaces are occupied with pieces of furniture that are imagined and made as oversized elements of structure, ‘furniture as structure’, placing them in playful dialogue with the building’s newly exposed frame.”
      One of the office floors has already been furnishedPhotos of the project show one of the office floors already fitted out.
      The light-touch approach includes glazed meeting rooms, a wooden kitchen and mobile shelves that function as room dividers. Desks and seats integrate bold flashes of colour that feel at home with the rest of the building.
      Each floor is similar in layout and finish, although the fourth floor features an exposed steel and timber joisted roof and a balcony terrace.
      The space features colourful desks, open shelves and glazed meeting roomsLaszlo is one of several innovative offices designs recently completed in London, as companies adapt to more flexible working policies following the impact of the pandemic.
      Other recent examples include a co-working office that doubles as a “town hall” and an office with more meeting areas than desks.
      The photography is by David Grandorge.

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      MSMR Architects designs DL/78 workspace to double as “town hall”

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      MSMR Architects has designed a co-working office in London’s Fitzrovia that can also be used as a space for talks or exhibitions.

      DL/78 is located in 80 Charlotte Street, a new 30,000-square-metre mixed-use building designed by Make for property developer Derwent London. It is offered as an amenity to the company’s office customers.
      DL/78 is designed to be used as a workspace or event spaceMSMR Architects designed the space to be as flexible as possible, able to accommodate different types of office work and also events where Derwent London’s community can connect.
      According to the studio, DL/78 “can be adapted to serve as a town hall for hosting presentations, talks and exhibitions”.
      The space is offered to Derwent London’s office customers as an amenity”Since the pandemic, there has been a lot of talk about the future of the office,” said MSMR Architects’ associate director Kevin Savage.

      “It’s been interesting working on a project that is challenging workspace norms and starting to anticipate changing needs.”
      Curtains allow spaces to be sectioned offWith 780 square metres of floor space, the two-level DL/78 is spread over the ground and lower ground floors of 80 Charlotte Street.
      Amenities centre around a grand double-height space, which is framed on two sides by high-level windows.

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      Different types of furniture help to organise this space into different zones, but can all easily be moved to facilitate different layouts when required.
      Additional rooms wrap around one side of the space. These include a conference room, a series of meeting rooms, a wellness room, kitchen facilities and a public cafe operated by Lantana.
      Meeting rooms are defined by glass screensGlass screens are favoured over partition walls so that spaces can be both visually connected and acoustically private. There are also curtains, allowing certain areas to be sectioned off.
      “This space is collaborative, flexible and more domestic in feel,” said Savage. “Is that what future office space might look like?”
      Design details take cues from British Constructivist artVisually, the space is designed to reference British Constructivism, a 1950s art movement with strong links to Fitzrovia.
      This can be observed in both 80 Charlotte Street’s architecture and the interior design of DL/78, with many details designed to express structure.
      The space includes a public Lantana cafe featuring bespoke terrazzo floor tilesKey areas include the staircase, where mesh panels slot into the steel beams, and the junction between the balustrade and the exposed floor plate.
      “A challenging programme meant that there was early engagement with trades and craftspeople during the design stages,” said project architect Aaron Birch. “This allowed for a more collaborative approach, which is evident in the detail and finish which really elevates the space.”
      DL/78 is located in the Make-designed 80 Charlotte Street in FitzroviaDL/78 is the latest is a series of projects that explore how office spaces might develop in the aftermath of the pandemic, with companies having to work harder to entice people away from working from home.
      Other recent examples include a co-working space designed around wellness principles and an office with more meetings areas than desks.
      Photography is by Jack Hobhouse.

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      Michaelis Boyd unveils apartments inside Battersea Power Station

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      Architecture studio Michaelis Boyd references the 1930s and 50s in its design for apartments in London’s newly redeveloped Battersea Power Station.

      The London-based studio has planned the layouts and finishes for 253 apartments in the former power station, which is currently being redeveloped by architecture firm WilkinsonEyre.
      These include 119 in Switch House East, which has just opened, 98 in Switch House West, which was completed in May 2021, and a further 36 located in the yet-to-complete Boiler House.
      The show home features Heritage 33, one of two materials palettes developed for the flatsTo make the most of the available space, Michaelis Boyd developed more than 100 different apartment layouts.
      For the fixture and finishes, the studio developed two distinct materials palettes for the homes, referencing different aspects of the building’s history and architectural character.

      The first palette, called Heritage 33, takes inspiration from the 1930s, the decade when the power station was built.
      All homes feature Crittall-style glazed screens and dual-aspect windowsDark chevron-patterned flooring references the parquet found in the space known as Control Room A, which at one stage was responsible for poviding a fifth of London’s electricity.
      Bathrooms feature glazed tiles, inspired by tiles found in the power station director’s staircase, while walls are finished in subtle colour shades.
      The Heritage 33 palette takes its cues from the 1930sA second palette, called Heritage 47, offers a more contemporary feel, combining 1950s details with a modern industrial warehouse aesthetic.
      The style is more minimal, with lighter toned wood flooring and pale walls.

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      “The residences have a refined industrial quality to them,” said Michaelis Boyd co-founder Alex Michaelis.
      “We wanted to create interiors that would reference the power station’s rich history but also stand the test of time, for the ultimate experience of modern city living.”
      Chevron-patterned flooring references the original parquet in the power station’s Control Room AIn both palettes, details are designed to complement the building’s architecture. Kitchen tiles echo the exposed brick walls, while copper details nod to the more industrial elements.
      Glass screens and doors take their cues from traditional Crittall windows, allowing plenty of light to filter through the homes and offering residents more flexibility in their living spaces.
      Copper details pay tribute to the building’s industrial historyResidents also have access to a large rooftop garden located above one of the building’s historic turbine halls.
      “Looking forward into 2022, there continues to be a focus on the importance of outdoor space and a connection with nature,” said Michaelis.
      Glazed tiles reference the design of the power station director’s staircase”At Switch House East, large Crittall screens and dual-aspect glazed windows were designed to make use of natural daylight, encouraging flow between spaces and offering views out onto the riverside and landscaped courtyards and terraces, bringing the outdoors in,” he continued.
      “The open-plan layouts of these loft-style apartments also remain more relevant than ever, as we continue to design versatile spaces that will lend themselves to news way of living, working, eating and relaxing from home.”
      Switch House welcomed its first residents in JanuaryThe Grade II* listed Battersea Power Station was designed by Giles Gilbert Scott. It was in use from 1933 until 1983, and has been abandoned ever since.
      Numerous designs were proposed for the building over the years. Architect Terry Farrell suggested converting it into a park, football club Chelsea wanted to turn it into a stadium and Rafael Viñoly designed a skyscraper to sit next door.
      Homes with the Heritage 47 palette, like this one in Switch House West, have a more minimal aestheticWilkinsonEyre’s design will turn the turbine halls into a shopping centre, while other parts of the building will contain restaurants, events spaces and offices, including Apple’s London campus.
      The iconic chimneys will be refurbished, with one set to contain a glass viewing elevator.
      The photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

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