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Power Road

de Metz Forbes Knight Architects, London, 2000

 

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Entrance for vehicles 

David Churchill (website)     Download Original

  • Entrance for vehicles    
  • An existing outsize chimney has been reinvented as a three-dimensional entry sign    
  • The landscaped courtyard    
  • De Metz Green has re-tuned the 1930s Power Road Studios in west London to appeal to creative companies whose employees like to blur the distinction between leisure and work    
  • Double height cafe space    
  • Graphics applied to cast glass    
  • Douglas fir has been used for the chunky reception area furniture    
  • New staircases adopt the no-nonsense aesthetic of the existing building    
  • The size and character of the office units varies according to the constraints of the existing building. This one shares a glazed wall with the restaurant     
  • A pair of vertically aligned ‘fire station doors’ lead from the café and meeting area    
  • Cast glass is used to bring light into the corridors    
  • Site plan    
  • Ground floor plan    
  • Second floor plan    
  • Section     
  • Section     
  • Original concept sketch    
  • Working detail: Plan of reception desk    
  • Working detail: Plan of kitchen and bar    

Renovation of the 1930s Power Road Studios in west London to appeal to creative companies whose employees want to work in a relaxed environment

Formerly occupied by the BBC, Power Road Studios is a complex of five buildings, totalling 6,000m2. Built in the 1930s in a utilitarian style, the renovation of the building uses graphics to create a more upbeat image and to transform an outsize industrial chimney into a towering three-dimensional entry sign.

The hybrid ‘loft campus’ is complete with ‘hanging out’ space, where the boundaries between work and relaxation are blurred. The focus of the development is a double-height café/bar overlooked by a reception and meeting area which immediately establishes the development’s informal atmosphere.

Materials include mild steel handrails, fairfaced blockwork walls and an epoxy floor paint giving a smooth industrial finish to the concrete floors. Reglit cast glass structural glazing has been used to bring light into corridors, and an unexpected touch of luxury is provided by the Douglas fir used for the chunky reception area furniture and the outsize doors.

Data

  • Begun: May 1999
  • Completed: Mar 2000
  • Floor area: 3,167m2
  • Sector: Office
  • Total cost: £1.8M
  • Tender date: Jan 1999
  • Procurement: JCT Intermedate
  • Address: 114 Power Road, London, W4 5PY, United Kingdom

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