The refurbishment of 8-10 Stratton Street included the restoration of an original Victorian building and the introduction of new spaces and layouts. The client sought a distinctly British identity for the headquarters building, and in particular to draw on the history and character of its Mayfair location. Squire and Partners devised an approach that took inspiration from the existing building and developed a scheme which restored original features and introduced new elements rooted in the history of the building to create an identity for the interior.

A quatrefoil pattern found on the original building fabric was reworked to create a motif used throughout the interiors. The motif has been used on bespoke elements such as stair runners and etchings on glass partitions. In addition to these elements we wanted to create a bespoke textured wall system, which could be used throughout the scheme and would tie into the fabric of the building.

We began trialling the motif by laser cutting into cardboard in our Modelshop, making full scale mock ups to see how the pattern looked at close range and from a distance. This later progressed to laser cutting into MDF, playing with the smoothness of the top MDF surface and the slight fuzziness of the finish once you rout into it.

Once we were satisfied with the pattern layout we contacted Based Upon, a team of London-based artists and designers who specialise in sprayed metal and resin finishes for large scale furniture and artworks. We worked closely with them to agree a metallised finish which gave the right tone and texture when applied to MDF. We also worked with German joinery company Metrica on producing large scale MDF panels to the highest quality and working to minimal tolerances. Using a depth of 0.4mm for the quatrefoil motif, Metrica fabricated the panels and devised a fixing system based on split battens which interlinked to secure the panels in place. Lasers were used to align walls, floors and junctions with ultimate precision.

The end result was a rich and textured panel which was used on walls in the main lounge area, the lift lobby and in the Chairman’s office joinery. An adapted version – designed to increase sound absorption – was used on feature ceilings. Where panelled walls featured recessed boxes, a brass trim was used to conceal the joints and a timber veneer lining lit by a continuous LED strip. Stratton Street was widely published in the UK and abroad, and won Best Workspace Environment at the FX Interior Design Award in 2012.