Adams + Collingwood designed this new 4500 sq foot office for their own use.
The exterior of the three storey courtyard building is finished in hydraulic lime render with recycled blue glass aggregate- the first use in the UK of this material, discovered on an 18th century facade in Prague.
The L shaped building provides a large high ceilinged open plan studio space for the architects’ practice at 2nd floor level with meeting and reception and sublet spaces on the first floor.
Design Detail
An open stair links the first and second floors of the studio. Lobbies and the usual fire resisting enclosures were eliminated by adopting a fire engineering approach and incorporating a drop down fire curtain which protects the escape route in case of fire without compromising the spatial quality of the main studio space.
Recycled granite and marble worktop offcuts of many types are laid on edge to create an access path which also serves as the practice’s stone sample collection.
The architects commissioned purpose made metalwork (light fittings, handrails, ‘clinker built’ steel gates) by Alex Moore and furniture by Jack Trench to complete the project which was completed on a low budget in eight months.