Department Store Studios
Commercial Development
Location: Bellfield Road, Brixton, London
Client: Squire & Partners
Architect: Squire & Partners
Size: 140 sqm
Status: Ongoing
Squire & Partners are developing The Department Store Studios, a four-storey contemporary workspace building adjacent to their award-winning refurbishment of The Department Store.
The crafted red brick building which takes inspiration from the robust Edwardian aesthetic of The Department Store, replaces a series of derelict annex structures from the 1970s with four floors of modern flexible workspace designed for small to medium creative businesses, along with a ground floor restaurant and outdoor terrace.
The Design Approach: The Coming Of The Railways
Brixton underwent a huge transformation between the 1860s and 1890s, during the age of the Industrial Revolution as railways and trams linked Brixton with the centre of London. It was this industrial heritage coupled together with the robust architecture that formed the basis of the design response.
The design focused more on materiality, an honest but brutal use of polished concrete, burnt timber and corten steel to emphasize and celebrate the coming of the railways. Trellises and sculptural canopies constructed from steel reinforcement bars giving much needed verticality and a sense of scale. The paving, distinctly linear with burnt oak sett and steel grating inlays set at an opposing angle to the ground floor restaurant to give a perception of depth and movement. The raw materials softened with dense lush planting to provide a comfortable microclimate, an oasis within an otherwise harsh urban environment.
Service offered: Landscaping
For more projects completed by our Landscape Architect team click here
CGLA are an award winning team of Landscape Architects, Garden Designers Landscapers and Garden Maintenance Operatives working in Buckinghamshire, London and the South East, as well as on prestigious design projects across the UK and abroad. We are currently working in Oman, Jersey and France, and welcome enquires for design, landscaping or garden maintenance. Contact us here
