The Department Store Studio, London

The Department Store Studios is a four-storey contemporary workspace building developed by Squire & Partners, located adjacent to their award-winning refurbishment of The Department Store in Brixton. The new development creates a platform for growing businesses with 13,000 sq ft of flexible workspaces – from individual desks to private studios – and a host of serviced social and meeting areas. The Studios is also home to a neighbourhood bar/restaurant and screening room.

The crafted red brick building takes inspiration from the robust Edwardian aesthetic of The Department Store with patterned brickwork and contemporary faceted bay windows. A setback fourth floor creates generous external terraces and is planted with a green roof and solar panels that create renewable energy on site.

Internally, designs are centred on sustainability and celebrating the honesty of raw materials. Establishing a stripped back aesthetic, the cross laminated timber frame and brick finishes are exposed throughout, offset by polished plaster and smooth grey screed floors, with exposed services encased in suspended metal trays. Large openable windows lessen the need for artificial heating and cooling, and an advanced lighting system ensures natural daylight from all four sides of the building is only supplemented when necessary.

Bellefields, the ground floor restaurant offers modern Mediterranean cuisine, with interiors that reflect the menu’s celebration of seasonal, raw ingredients through an honest expression of natural materials and a colour palette inspired by the seasons. Separated from the restaurant by a central bar, a members’ lounge provides a relaxed clubhouse environment for member tenants or freelance workers.

On the workspace floors, generous floor to ceiling heights take inspiration from the proportions of The Department Store next door. Shared facilities include phone booths, bookable rooms and sociable kitchens, dining tables and lounge areas. Workspaces are designed in a simple loft style with added domestic comforts including rugs, plants and artwork. Meeting room interiors are tailored for high or low tempo tasks, with colour palettes that correspond to the four seasons to add individual character.

Workspaces comprise a mix of individual desks and private studios for 6 to 70 people, with a large communal roof terrace on the third floor. The fourth floor, configured as a single tenant floor, enjoys a private roof terrace that wraps around two sides of the building with views across central London.

At basement level, a neighbourhood screening room is provided for tenants and the local community, and members have access to cycle storage, lockers, showers and changing, promoting sustainable travel. The development supports local businesses with an annual residency scheme which provides free workspace and mentoring for young entrepreneurs, and an events programme curated to share skills, inspire creativity and expand local networks.