Set across the ground and first floors of a mixed-use development in the Paddington Basin, the scheme comprises private studios, open coworking areas, meeting rooms, seminar space, and an auditorium suitable for a wide range of businesses in the creative and tech industries.
Informed by the practice’s ongoing research into the potential for Wellness principles to create happier and healthier places to work, the space integrates innovative air filtration systems, adaptive lighting, and shallow floor plates in order to allow excellent natural light into every room.
The design seeks to create a space for interaction and collaboration with ‘clusters’ intended to create smaller communities or neighbourhoods within the wider workplace. Each cluster is centred around a kitchen and social space, and includes informal breakout and meeting areas, phone booths, meeting rooms, private studios and shared workstations.
Inspired by Brunel’s eponymous station and train shed, the design deploys a limited palette of simple and robust materials intent on giving the space both an industrial and civic quality. Bespoke detailing throughout the space cleverly hides the utilitarian office fixtures, subtly blending functionality and craft, for example through magnetic oak flooring covering floor outlets and perforated metal covers discretely disguising the air filtration units.
Wellness was at the heart of the brief and so the building services were designed accordingly with the air circulation system (air socks) bringing in fresh air. The lighting system uses intelligent white LEDs which adjusts the colour temperature of the light throughout the day in line with circadian rhythms.