The first meeting room was designed to be more formal.
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SHH’s office interiors for a London-based firm blend classic with contemporary for a high impact working environment
Combining old and new can be a tricky challenge at the best of times. Combining a 200-year-old townhouse with a 21st century office could be seen as even more of a challenge. Yet that was exactly the task faced by UK architecture and design firm SHH when it took on a private office project in Manchester Square, London.
Converting a Georgian townhouse which was also protected under UK legislation as a Grade II historic building provided the designers with restrictions to work against, but also inspiration.
“The design brief was clear right from the beginning of the process, and the speed required for completion of the project didn’t allow any room for change,” explained Brendan Heath, SHH associate and lead designer on the project.
“In simple terms, the brief had functional requirements that determined the number of offices and meeting rooms, but the aim was to design spaces that had more in common with a members’ bar or gentlemen’s club.”
As a listed building, SHH was obliged to retain certain elements of the structure’s fabric.
Matters were made easier given the interior had previously been used as an office, and SHH was requested to retain some standout details, such as the marble mosaic floor tiles in the entrance area, some marble-inlaid fireplaces, and detailed cornicing on the ceilings.
Furthermore, many of the building’s historic details provided benefits to the overall design. “The spaces benefit from good natural light, with typical tall Georgian windows to the front and a double aspect thanks to a rear courtyard,” said Heath. “Ceiling heights at the front of the building are also spectacular, between 3.6m and 3.8m.”
Working alongside SHH was the client side design director, Zeljko Popovic. “Having worked with Popovic before on a previous residential project, we had a good existing relationship and knew that we could build on the trust gained in that first project to produce a very contemporary solution for a very design literate client. This was especially useful in view of the fast-track nature of this project,” said Heath.
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The scheme, which spread just over 300m², had to house five company directors, 20 administrative staff, a formal ground floor space, video conferencing room, a breakout space and a less formal meeting room. “The offices are highly compartmentalised as a result of the configuration of the existing building,” said Heath.
Making an entrance
The entrance lobby, which still had its original stone mosaic tiles, was one of the areas where the original detailing needed to be maintained. The tiles were retained and polished, and SHH also added new elements to the space to create a grand entrance effect. The walls were lined with dark grey velvet drapes, which were chosen to create a theatrical effect. The colouring was also carried through to the hall and stairwell, which were painted in the same hue.
Adding both functionality and style is a 3.5m buttoned leather bench with marble inserts made especially for the project by Naught One. As well as providing seating for visitors to the office, the bench also conceals a radiator.
Lighting the lobby are two custom-made chandeliers by Michael Anastassiades, linked by two limited edition copper mirrors. Anastassiades’ work also continues along the stair, with his 1m bronze bar vertical tube lights running along its full length. “Lighting was always chosen to enhance the sense of theatre, but also to contrast modernity against the 200 year old building fabric,” said Heath.
Finishing off the lobby is one of four projections by artist Hugo Dalton, which is a sketch of ballet dancers with floral motifs, laser-cut onto stainless steel disks and then fitted into ceiling mounted projectors. SHH installed similar wall projections in other rooms in the building.
Dark materials
“The aim was to design spaces that had more in common with a members’ bar or gentlemen’s club,” Heath reiterated.
With this in mind, the palette used through most of the building focuses on dark, warm colours, assisted through sensitively-selected mood lighting. These strong colours were also selected to help compensate for the lack of distinctive details within the existing rooms.
“As the existing rooms did not contain enough detail to make the rooms individually distinctive, decoration had to fulfil that role,” said Heath. “Colour saturation added the necessary kick, with walls and ceilings painted the same colour in each room, with a different colour per room to create a unique personality and a varying degree of formality.”
The use of colour was enhanced with accent lighting by Modular and then combined with more dramatic pieces, such as the executive office pendant lighting by Foscarini.
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