{"id":744176,"date":"2024-08-07T06:51:07","date_gmt":"2024-08-07T05:51:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/?p=744176"},"modified":"2024-08-07T13:35:56","modified_gmt":"2024-08-07T12:35:56","slug":"case-study-somesuch-2-0-by-bureau-de-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.architectsjournal.co.uk\/specification\/case-study-somesuch-2-0-by-bureau-de-change","title":{"rendered":"Case study: Somesuch 2.0 by Bureau de Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Founded in 2010, Somesuch is one of the leading independent production companies, delivering progressive, award-winning commercials, music videos, branded content and films globally. It is now an international agency with studios in London and LA.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Like many of our clients, Somesuch is a repeat client: we designed their original studios in Shoreditch, a ground-floor fit-out which set an enfilade of glazed meeting rooms and inset lighting within the raw concrete and exposed brick walls of an open-plan industrial warehouse space. When the company outgrew these premises in July 2021, co-founder and CEO Sally Campbell reappointed us to design their new London headquarters, a multi-level workspace in the heart of the Spitalfields Conservation Area. The design needed to accommodate a growing team as the company hits its mature stride, while retaining the studio\u2019s identity and capturing a sense of place.<\/p>\n

The challenge has been to deliver a customised design combining open plan workspaces, meeting rooms and social spaces over a new multiple floor arrangement. The site is an industrial 1960s infill sandwiched between iconic Huguenot buildings near Spitalfields market. The building was used throughout its lifetime in the textile industry, as a 1990s rave venue and, more recently, as offices. We found it in a state of disrepair but were eager to utilise and celebrate the existing fabric, so we presented a light retrofit as the preferred option.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Mechanicals and electricals had to be completely overhauled and the interiors had to be stripped back to their bones. The building did not have a single orthogonal line and had layers of historical interventions. We wanted to celebrate the idiosyncrasies of this unique space, while finding visual balance. We worked closely with our joiners to rationalise the staircase and office volumes, finding appropriate alignments and massing to suit the space. Watching this building transform from a disused industrial building to a vibrant place of work has been rewarding for everyone involved.
\nBilly Mavropoulos and Katerina Dionysopoulou, directors, Bureau de Change<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Project data<\/b><\/h3>\n

Start on site <\/b>February 2023
\nCompletion <\/b>August 2023
\nConstruction cost <\/b>Undisclosed
\nArchitect <\/b>Bureau de Change
\nClient <\/b>Somesuch
\nM&E consultant <\/b>Callisia
\nApproved building inspector <\/b>London Building Control
\nMain contractor <\/b>AW Spaces
\nJoinery<\/b> Woodcam
\nCAD software used <\/b>AutoCAD<\/p>\n

\n

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Architect\u2019s choices<\/b><\/h3>\n

Much of the client\u2019s budget went into repairing the building itself, which required a complete overhaul of mechanical and electrical fittings. It has been stripped back to its core.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We worked closely with Sally Campbell, to develop the design and specify materials and fittings which reflect the personality of the studio. When specifying new materials we prioritised natural or low-embodied-carbon materials.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

For the oak stair, which is the central design device in this scheme, we developed bespoke joinery, crafted with care, emulating the artisanship of the Huguenots who were based here in the past. It physically and visually connects the three levels, as well as providing storage, lighting, seating and landscaping. It brings warmth and tactility and a domestic quality to the space, making it an inviting place to work.
\n<\/span>Billy Mavropoulos and Katerina Dionysopoulou, directors, Bureau de Change<\/i><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Specification<\/b><\/h3>\n

The offices are accessed on the ground floor with workspaces situated on the first and second floors. Central to the scheme is the signature timber staircase which rises between the two floors, dividing the floorplate and activating the spaces around it. It is the heart of the studio, where co-workers and clients can congregate to work or socialise and exchange ideas and inspiration. Bespoke timber panels wrap the original staircase, providing multifunctional use as shelving, lighting, seating (including nooks for reading) and landscaping. The panels feature details inspired by silk weavers\u2019 timber tools and loom machinery and rattan infills, which reference weaving techniques. As you ascend the stair the joinery expands into a double-storey bookcase and opens out into individual hot desking stations positioned around and overlooking the double-height atrium. Desks are provided close to the windows in various formats, ranging from standard desks to taller bar-style desks for working\/standing and more communal and clustered desk seating for specialist teams.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The first floor provides dedicated workspace for creative time, as well as a formal boardroom, a reading nook and an open plan kitchen. It leads out to a terrace of planters, providing outdoor space for the team to retreat to for a screen break.<\/p>\n

The second floor features deskspace for executive producers and production team members, as well as a less formal meeting room and offices for the managing director and general manager. Each enclosed space is characterised by a unique palette of complementary colours: paprika and pink, ochre and purple (Little Greene and Farrow & Ball); so that each takes on its own personality within a unified interior, while creating a bold backdrop to the feature timber stairwell. The scheme preserves key elements of the original building, including the flagstone floor, complementing the shell materials with carefully selected non-toxic surfaces such as Marmoleum flooring, a PVC-free carbon-neutral finish made of 97 per cent raw natural materials.<\/p>\n

Unconventional fittings such as papier-m\u00e2ch\u00e9 pendant lights, made in Portugal, add to the sense of a domestic space and reflect the irreverence of Somesuch\u2019s studio. The new entrance is characterised by vivid geometric tiles, complementing the original timber doors, marking your arrival in Somesuch\u2019s new home.
\nBilly Mavropoulos and Katerina Dionysopoulou, directors, Bureau de Change<\/i><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>\"\"<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Selected products<\/h3>\n

Floor finish
\n<\/b>Forbo
\nMarmoleum
\nThroughout
\nforbo.com<\/a>
\n
\nKitchen worktop
\n<\/b>Cosentino Group
\nSilestone Arcilla Red
\nKitchen
\ncosentino.com<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Dining table lights
\n<\/b>Crea-Re
\nCopernicus
\nKitchen\/dining table
\ncrea-re.com<\/a>
\n<\/i>
\nCeiling lamp
\n<\/b>Muller Van Severen for Valerie Objects
\nN5
\nSmaller meeting room
\nvalerie-objects.com<\/a>
\n<\/i>
\nLampshade
\n<\/b>HAY
\nMatin Wall 380 by Inga Semp\u00e9
\nLevel 1 workspace
\nhay.dk<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Wall light<\/b>
\n<\/i>Design by Us
\nNew Wave Optic Wall Lamp by Rasmus Larsson
\nStairwell
\ndesign-by-us.com<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n

Tiling<\/b>
\n<\/i>Domus
\nMattonelle Margherita tiles \u2013 Nathalie du Pasquier for Mutina
\nEntrance foyer
\ndomusgroup.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Founded in 2010, Somesuch is one of the leading independent production companies, delivering progressive, award-winning commercials, music videos, branded content and films globally. It is now an international agency with studios in London and LA.\u00a0 Like many of our clients, Somesuch is a repeat client: we designed their original studios in Shoreditch, a ground-floor fit-out …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":744375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_oasis_is_in_workflow":0,"_oasis_original":0,"ep_exclude_from_search":false},"categories":[721],"tags":[2083,5001,2264,5566],"yoast_head":"\nCase study: Somesuch 2.0 by Bureau de Change<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The new London HQ for a film and video production company has been built on a 1960s industrial site near Spitalfields market. 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