The Department Store

Squire and Partners purchased a dilapidated Edwardian department store in Brixton, and entirely reimagined the space allowing the existing fabric and layers of history to inform the new design. Collaborating with craftspeople and furniture makers, the design of the space has been informed by the existing fabric and layers of history, and provides an array of spaces for the various design disciplines within the practice, as well as a series of external creative and retail units.

Externally, the design reverses years of neglect - revealing original brickwork, stone, marble and terracotta - and reactivates the street level through animation and display. A new social rooftop level comprises a series of oak framed pavilions topped with copper shingle, and a crafted glass dome replaces a dilapidated existing cupola.

Original interior elements such as mahogany and teak parquet flooring, a grand tiled staircase and a patina of colours documenting the building’s history were preserved. A series of voids cut through the building create dramatic volumes, and provide vistas between levels. Office workspaces celebrate the process of craft and making.