The rooftop terrace is a highlight of the newly transformed site as it commands both City and Shoreditch vistas from a space featuring lounge furniture and planting. A double-height atrium has been added to the Bishop’s Square entrance, with the aim of giving the building more presence on that side, and outdoor planting further enhances the design. On the exterior, pinstripe aluminium cladding has been used with a charcoal palette and LED light panels under mesh giving the appearance of a glowing façade. Planning permission was also achieved to refurbish the existing façade and create a terrace for tenants on the rooftop. “Creating zones through the ceiling design, lighting design and furniture layouts was key to the concept.” “It was important to us that this ground-floor space wasn’t just a sea of furnishing or joinery with no differentiation,” Bailey says. In such a large, open space, zoning was integral. MoreySmith collaborated with Benchmark on the design of a statement bench and other items were sourced from Italian makers including Living Divani, De La Espada and Meridiani. A neutral colour palette runs throughout and is complemented by impactful materials like green marble terrazzo flooring, Estremoz marble worktops and the Alusion aluminium foam that hangs above the bar. There’s this play on furnishings and finishes gradually changing through the space.”Īn eclectic mix of furniture is used in different set- ups designed to accommodate everything from pre- meeting catch-ups to Zoom calls throughout the work day.
“At the Spitalfields and Shoreditch end there’s a more relaxed, raw feel, then if you go from the City entrance it’s a lot more slick, monochrome and very architectural, with details like the feature lighting – supplied by Roll & Hill and Dirk Vander Kooij. “Now as the user walks through the space, there’s a subtle transition between the two styles from one end to the other, with the statement bar in the centre acting as the focal point that gels the two together. “We researched what the two aesthetics would feel like and then looked into ways of blending them,” Bailey explains.
TWO WORLDS COLLIDE FULL
With this in mind, the practice set about turning 7,800 sq ft spanning the full length of the ground floor into a dual reception that draws on these two different identities, while providing hospitality space for coffee meetings and after-work cocktails. The firm was briefed to make the early-2000s site, formerly the headquarters of the Royal Bank of Scotland, a destination in which people want to work. A start-up might go for the Shoreditch address, while a law firm might want to be connected to the City.” “Having the dual entrance allows people to have two options for their address, 280 Bishopsgate or 280 Bishops Square. “Our idea was to connect the City to the Spitalfields and Shoreditch side and bring that contextual inspiration into a space blurring hospitality and the workplace,” says associate interior designer for MoreySmith and project lead, Zoe Bailey, who was named among the Mix Interiors 30 under 30 of 2022.
When MoreySmith approached the redesign of 280 Bishopsgate, a 13-storey tower facing onto both Spitalfields and the City, the architecture and interior design studio envisioned a vibrant new workplace that linked these diverse neighbourhoods with an entrance on each side. This article first appeared in Mix Interiors #2 23
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