London Flexible Office Fit Out: A Creative Space

Oxgate House

Building 1 entrance lobby Alexander Hills Architects

View down the central upper landing of Building 2 Alexander Hills Architects

The upper landing of Building 2 Alexander Hills Architects

A studio door set Alexander Hills Architects

Building 2 eaves studio Alexander Hills Architects

Building 2 ground floor studio with shutters Alexander Hills Architects

Building 3 studio space Alexander Hills Architects

Building 3 ground floor studio Alexander Hills Architects

Building 3 studio unit Alexander Hills Architects

Building 3 stair core Alexander Hills Architects

Category:
Commercial

Status:
Complete

Year:
2019

Area:
134,000sqft

Contractor:
OKTRA Building Contractors

Stages:
1 (Brief) to 3 (Developed Design)

Oxgate House was a former bathroom showroom and manufacturing plant. Comprised of three contiguous but distinct sections that formed a large rectangle approximately 120m deep by 36 wide, we address each of these elements slightly differently.

Building 1, the former offices on the street, had a convenient floor plan and existing windows lending itself to smaller studio units. Building 2, the middle section and former storage / manufacturing, with large steel portal frames, inspired larger units; whilst Building 3, towards the rear, formed of odd and irregular spaces are used as simply as they can.

The Client

Founded in 2010, Artistic Spaces was created to provide accessible and affordable workspaces for a wide range of creative and entrepreneurial individuals. From artists and designers to small business owners and freelancers, their spaces are designed to inspire productivity and collaboration in a sustainable way.

By implementing a flexible model of sectioning studios, they’ve been able to reduce costs for tenants while fostering a supportive environment that encourages growth and innovation across industries and disciplines

A view of a studio unit in Building 3

A view of a typical unit in Building 2

Design

Due to the sheer scale of the building, the arrangement of rentable studio units had to be robust, simple, and clear. With this in mind, the design response focused on a careful balance between generous circulation space - where individual users could cross and interact, forming an informal neighbourliness - as well as rentable studio footage.

As each design detail was multiplied, we employed a standard met-sec framing and painted plasterboard partitions to define the studios. An intentionally modest palette allows attention to fall on carefully crafted moments. Each doorset was designed with a generous window - in Building 2 the full door width again - alongside a timber-faced door. These elements lend subtle individuality to each workspace while maintaining the overall calm of the wider office, allowing for some dramatic building-wide graphics and tenant amendments.

A view down the first floor studios of Building 2

Materiality

Materiality plays a key role in anchoring the design. The existing building has a strong visual identity of industrial materials - brick, concrete lintels, corrugate roofing - that, coupled with its setting in Staples Corner, Brent, requires a robust clarity in the proposed material choice.

Taking a cue from this, we chose to accentuate the journey through the existing buildings, beginning with harmonising the form of the Building 1 as one complete black form. This makes a clear contrast with the predominately white interior balancing external identity with internal cleanliness.

This continues in Buildings 2 and 3 with the former loading bays infilled with aluminium industrial roller-shutters with integrated glazing, contrasting well with their surroundings of in-situ concrete lintels and brick walls.

An internal stairwell inserted within the existing shell

Conclusion

Though the scale of this project is by far the biggest we have undertaken (at 134,000sqft GIA), it is not the most complex. The response to this size has been a mental process of observation and careful analysis, aiming to develop a harmonious plan that is both easy to navigate, use and build.

The necessities of the design have been practical adjustments to the existing fabric, establishing a high threshold for demolition, and accommodating the existing patina of the space within a stylistic language of found, retained, and proposed.

All in all, we feel managed to develop a clear response to an otherwise underused space and transform it into a spacious community and commercial space that is a benefit to the company and area.

Oxgate House, a commercial office building of rentable artist's studios Alexander Hills Architects

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