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      McLaren Excell unveils minimalist London headquarters for Samsung Design Europe

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      Only a handful of spruce partitions carve up the pared-back interior of this London office, which McLaren Excell has created for Samsung’s European design studio.

      Set inside a 21-storey tower known as the Can of Ham building, Samsung Design Europe is one of the tech company’s seven product design hubs across the globe, with other outposts located in the US, China, Brazil, India, Japan and South Korea.
      Local architecture studio McLaren Excell said it devised the minimalist interior for the London headquarters to “consign the formality of the workspace to the past”.
      Spruce wood partitions break up the Samsung Design Europe headquarters”[The office] instead embraces a more relaxed, informal and experiential place of work,” explained the firm’s co-founder Luke McLaren.
      “We want the Samsung office to have all the qualities that are enjoyable about your home – a softness, a sense of calm, a high degree of tactility, spaces to congregate, spaces to which one can withdraw – but all the while nurturing that sense of welcome, of belonging, of enjoyment.”

      As a result, the office features just a handful of glue-laminated spruce partitions that loosely split the floor plan into private meeting rooms and communal zones where staff members can engage in more collaborative work.
      Spruce fins also run along the office’s windowsSpruce glulam also forms a series of vertical fins, which appear at intervals along the office’s windows.
      In the breakout area, the same pale-toned timber was used to craft the dining table, counter and benches.
      Furnishings in the breakout area are made from spruceGrey linen curtains that hang from tracks on the ceiling can be used to further divide up the open-plan office while bringing a sense of tactility to the interior.
      In an effort to make the HQ seem more relaxed and inviting, planters overspilling with foliage were embedded into the top of the desk banks.

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      McLaren Excell also abandoned a traditional lighting grid in favour of fitted lamps, which illuminate pockets of the office in more targeted and intimate ways.
      The architecture studio was founded by Luke McLaren and Robert Excell in 2010 and is based in London’s Chelsea neighbourhood.
      Planters are embedded into the office’s desk banksRecent projects by McLaren Excell include a bathroom showroom in Los Angeles with arched doorways and altar-like tables reminiscent of a church.
      The photography is by Lorenzo Zandri.

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      RCKa designs Nourish Hub to tackle food poverty in London

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      Architecture studio RCKa has transformed a row of vacant shop units in west London into a community kitchen and learning space that hopes to reduce dependency on food banks.

      Located on the Edward Wood Estate in Hammersmith, Nourish Hub provides the first permanent home for UKHarvest, a charity that uses food as a tool for social impact.
      Nourish Hub is designed to feel open and accessibleWith Hammersmith & Fulham the London borough with the highest dependency on food banks, Nourish Hub’s ambition is not only to provide food for vulnerable local residents. It offer opportunities for people to practice cooking skills, learn about nutrition and access jobs in the food industry.
      The space includes a commercial kitchen, a teaching kitchen and a flexible space that can be used as a dining room, workspace, classroom or event venue.
      A flexible interior can be used as a dining room, classroom, workspace or event venueRCKa’s role was not only to plan the interior, but to find ways of empowering the local community to get involved in the facility and make it their own.

      The design strategy focused on making the space – which previously housed a post office and a supermarket – feel as accessible as possible.
      Vibrant colours and bold signage make the space more welcomingThe facade can be opened up, thanks to sliding glass doors and a serving hatch, while bright colours and bold signage create a friendly feel throughout.
      “Getting people through the door is the first challenge, so the Hub had to seem open and welcoming to the entire community,” said RCKa director Dieter Kleiner.
      The facade integrates a serving hatch and large sliding doorsWhen developing the design, the architects decided against a traditional community engagement programme. Instead, they hosted a range of pop-up activities to attract the interest of local residents and learn about their experiences.
      They started by painting a graphic mural over the old shutters. They also set up an outdoor kitchen, created playful questionnaire cards and hosted workshops with children.

      London youth centre by RCKa features a translucent polycarbonate facade

      “It wasn’t about co-designing the space with local people; that wasn’t what we needed,” explained project architect Anthony Staples during a press tour.
      “We had three aims: to raise awareness of the project, to test ideas and to establish a local identity.”
      A ceiling mural design came out of a children’s workshopIn one children’s workshop, participants created graphic designs out of raw fruit, vegetables and grains.
      One of these designs is now painted on the ceiling, while another has been turned into ceramic wall tiles.
      The training kitchen includes wheelchair-accessible surfacesFor the interior layout, RCKa took cues from Victorian kitchens. The teaching kitchen takes the form of a large island, while open cabinets display tableware and cookbooks.
      “We were really inspired by old-fashioned kitchens, which are very performative,” said Staples.
      “Everything is on display, so when you go in, you feel like you want to touch and grab things.”
      Open shelving was favoured over cupboardsThe space is furnished with wooden tables, and chairs in bold shades of red and yellow.
      There are also various details added in to make the space accessible to a wide range of users. These include lowered surfaces that cater to wheelchair users and a curtain that supports those with specific privacy needs.
      The children’s design workshop also provided graphics for ceramic wall tilesYvonne Thomson, the CEO of UKHarvest, believes the concept can help to tackle issues of food poverty and insecurity, which impact an estimated 8.4 million people in the UK.
      The project was realised with funding support from the Mayor of London’s Good Growth Fund, as well as the borough, but the target is for Nourish Hub to become financially self-sufficient within three years.
      “Great care has been taken to create a versatile space that enables us to facilitate positive change and meet the needs of different community groups,” Thomson said.
      The architects began the community engagement process by painting the old shuttersRCKa compares the project with its previous work on The Granville, a community centre with the purpose of providing accessible workspace for local startups.
      Staples believes these types of projects could easily be replicated across the UK, to bring change at a large scale.
      “This project is totally replicable,” he said. “We could roll them out in a lot of London boroughs and beyond.”
      Photography is by Francisco Ibáñez Hantke.

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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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      Studio Rhonda uses saturated colours and glass bricks to revamp Zetteler's headquarters

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      Interiors firm Studio Rhonda has redesigned communications agency Zetteler’s London office using contrasting colours and tactile vegan and deaf-friendly materials.

      The studio, which is led by Rhonda Drakeford, created a distinctive feeling for each of the headquarter’s three zones – a main work area, a smaller cafe-style space for meals and relaxing, and a meeting space.
      The Zetteler headquarters is located in east LondonAs Zetteler founder Sabine Zetteler has severe conductive hearing loss, it was also important that the office didn’t feature details such as hard floors and high ceilings, which can create a disruptive atmosphere.
      “The space was to be split into three zones, each with a different ambience and function, with an emphasis on the whole space to be deaf-friendly, plus there was the need for the materials used to be vegan,” Drakeford explained.
      Plants are dotted throughout the spaceThe choice to use vegan materials was based on the fact that most of Zetteler’s staff is vegan or vegetarian.

      “The research process was enlightening; for example, I was surprised to learn that some paints include casein, a dairy product,” Zetteler told Dezeen.
      “I’m proud that we’ve been able to find vegan options for all our integral building materials, but I would really like to see manufacturers take more responsibility for transparency, so we can all make more informed decisions.”
      A duck-egg blue decorates the main workspaceTo create distinctive zones in the office, located in a mid-century industrial block off Broadway Market in east London, Drakeford used different colours and materials to define the spaces.
      A pale duck-egg blue was used for the main work area, which also features a large desk in natural wood and a jute carpet that gives the room an organic feel.
      Glass bricks create a light meeting roomThe adjacent meeting room is enclosed in glass brick walls, which Zetteler had requested to allow for light to flow through the space.
      “I sourced some Czech glass bricks with graphic linear mouldings for a contemporary edge,” Drakeford explained.

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      “I devised an anchor line of 2,300 millimetres from the ground as the top height of any structures so as to maintain coherence in all three zones and also to help the space retain an open-plan feel,” she added.
      “The roof of the glass-brick ‘pod’ stops at the 2,300 millimetres anchor line, allowing light to travel over it.”
      The Zetteler kitchen features wood and Valchromat surfacesIn the kitchen, the interior designer used furniture from brand Hølte, a Zetteler client whose showroom is close to the office.
      “I specified custom oversize recessed handles and an unusual matching oak splash-back combined with a beige tap by Toniton for a mono-material/colour effect ‘block’,” Drakeford said.
      “We also used the oversize circular handles on the adjoining orange Valchromat storage cupboards, which were also produced by Hølte, and the green Valchromat sliding doors to the right of the kitchen block,”
      Pale blue walls meet green storage spaces and a glass-brick meeting roomThe use of colour was defined by the light in the different rooms of the office, which sits on a north-south axis.
      “I worked with a cool, duck-egg blue at the front, south-facing area as I knew that the space tends to get very warm in the summer,” Drakeford explained.
      “A warmer, buff colour was used at the rear, north-facing section, to counteract how cold that area can feel in the winter months.”
      Warmer hues were used at the north-facing rear of the buildingThe neutral backdrop hues were complemented by pops of colour in a variety of textured materials and chalky tones. To make the space deaf-friendly, the designer chose to add plenty of soft materials to the interiors.
      “Curtains and rugs are used throughout to help with zoning and privacy as well as optimising the acoustics,” Drakeford said.
      “The meeting pod is purpose-built, very solid and lined with acoustic vegan wool, creating a quiet sanctuary from the more open-plan spaces. Planting is also a key part of the acoustic softening, as well as making the space more welcoming.”
      A deep blue hue makes the meeting room feel cosyThe overall design aimed to create an office that didn’t have the “matchy-matchy” feel of many corporate office spaces, Drakeford said.
      “I approached this space in the same way I would treat a residential interior, with the warmth and comfort of a mismatched but visually coherent family of furniture and materials,” she added.
      Other notable London offices include The Crown Estate’s Fathom Architecture-designed space in St James’s and a “homely” office in the brutalist Smithson Tower.
      Photography is by Taran Wilkhu.

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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.

      Fathom Architects designs London office with more meeting areas than desks

      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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