Blue Hive

The communications agency Blue Hive was created by merging teams from three separate agencies ­ each of which worked for the same client ­ into one unit. As an ideas-driven business, the space needed to be inspiring, and enable collaboration, so Spacelab created an open-plan office, centred round a communal work bench that seats 70, with a large ‘ideas wall’ nearby wall for brainstorming. There is also a mix of formal and informal meeting areas, with private, glazed rooms and more relaxed spaces that can be curtained off.

Being a new agency – especially one located in a large office building - it was also important that Blue Hive had its own identity, so we worked with it to differentiate the office from others, with a timber reception, a curved wall for the library, and flashes of bold colour.

Belmont United

The ingenious design of this proposed building provides much-needed facilities for Belmont United junior football club, with space for physio, changing rooms, functions and catering. The roof is punctuated with roof lights to bring light into the building, but also doubles up as a roof terrace for watching games. The overhanging canopy of the roof also provides shelter below, and helps define the entrance to the building. The contemporary design is in keeping with a school on an adjacent site.

Cedar

its about unlocking the potential of a site or building and transforming it to create new usage, functions and designs which are in tune with the client, organization and users its about unlocking the potential of a site or building and transforming it to create new usage, functions and designs which are in tune with the client, organization and users its about unlocking the potential of a site or building and transforming it to create new usage, functions and designs which are in tune with the client, organization and users

Bauer Media

Spacelab helped Bauer Media move from two buildings into one, creating a striking central atrium in the new home with meeting rooms that are stacked like sugar cubes. Each one has a border of coloured light, creating an illuminated patchwork that brings life to this open, central space.

The move reduced Bauer’s need for space from 6,200 sqm to 4,800 sqm, which cut overall property costs by 23 per cent. We did this with the help of a two-week occupancy study of the company, where we discovered that space was being used inefficiently. The solution was to allocate different sized desks for different jobs, depending on their needs.

COI

Spacelab refurbished a suite of meeting rooms for the Central Office of Information in London, creating a greater variety of spaces to better cater for the variety of visitors it was receiving. There are now six informal meeting booths, three larger formal meeting rooms, and four private meeting rooms, all fitted with identical audio-visual facilities. There is also space for informal gatherings in communal area outside the rooms. Sliding glass partitions maximise light and views between the rooms, and can be opened or closed to reconfigure the suite, allowing for larger boardroom-style meeting rooms and open-plan events and presentations, with seating for 150.

Burton Street

The proposed scheme is for a single family dwelling for a professional couple, the layout is over 3 floors, the spaces are designed to be flexible so the living style can be adapted to reflect the changing needs of the residents. The basement level has the added benefit of a lightwell providing light and fresh air to the rooms at this level. All the rooms within the building benefit from large glazed areas to the front elevation maximizing the natural light.

On approach along the street, the building does not immediately stand out, however when reaching its immediate area the simple structured forms and subtle materials to the front elevation enlighten the imagination and provide a contemporary and current addition to the streetscape.

Burleigh Way

Working with a developer, Spacelab has been appointed as architect for a scheme of 55 apartments that will revive an area Enfield town centre, adjacent to the old town square, with a mixture of one-, two- and three-bedroom flats. Replacing a former cinema building behind busy Church Street, the new development will have shops and offices on the ground floor and a paved plaza at the front, re-invigorating a back route from the old town square to Church Street, via Burleigh Way. The varied heights and materials of the buildings are a modern take on a medieval square, in keeping with the character of the area.

Celestial Church

After 20 years as a disused factory, this London Church in the heart of the East End community will soon have a new worship hall and facilities. The addition of 19 residential units above the Church maximizes the site, providing revenue and housing for the Church community.

Dark grey with yellow and green inserts rising up over five floors gives the church a distinctive identity and strong local presence. The building tapers down on both sides to adjoining properties in respect of its neighbours which creates a number of staggered roof terraces.

Link Insurance

We refurbished three floors of an existing building in just 10 weeks for Link and Zenith Insurance, which wanted to move from two buildings into one to create a more integrated workforce and culture. Key to achieving this was an open, fluid space, creating a sense of one company, rather than a set of compartmentalised teams. A catch-up area and glazed meeting rooms, which are adjacent to the main work space, blur the boundary between formal and informal zones, and a continuous red ceiling panel visually ties the large space together, bisecting the office and wrapping around the meeting rooms.

Morecambe Bay

Spacelab proposed a scheme for the development of Morecambe Bay as part of an Urban Splash/RIBA competition, which would extend the heart of Morecambe, and bring life and energy to the town, attracting new people to the community. Unlike many seaside developments, Spacelab gave as much attention to the land-facing side of the scheme as the seafront, with a landscaped urban park to integrate leisure facilities with commercial and residential spaces. As well as homes, bars, and a theatre, the plan incorporates tennis and basketball courts, a war memorial, areas for contemplation, and spaces to stroll or walk the dog.

Metro Radio

Spacelab has given Newcastle’s resident radio stations, Metro and Magic, a presence beyond the airwaves with this building, perched in the middle of a roundabout. Broadcasting has been brought into the heart of the building, with studios lining the main circulation space, so you can see in, and the DJs and radio guests can see out. The café leading off the main circulation space can also be screened off, creating a venue for live music broadcasts. Internal lighting is concealed in sculptural ceiling panels, and the exterior design capitalises on the building’s prominent location, with the studios illuminated in pink and green at night, creating a bold presence on the streetscape.

Archant Ilford

Newspapers have undergone massive change in the past 20 years. With this in mind, Spacelab designed an office fit for the 21st century for Archant, the UK’s largest independent newspaper group. Large, open-plan offices on both storeys encourage interaction and communication, and the structural support is designed so there are no columns breaking up the interior.

The double-height, glazed reception area, with a staircase connecting both floors, helps natural light penetrate the building, and the south-facing facade features louvres that automatically track the sun, providing shade throughout the day. Externally, the building gives Archant a strong presence in the local community, with aluminium panels wrapping around a block of bold red panels.

Emap Cap

On this project Spacelab have used four shades of grey and white to create both differentiation and continuity from the reception area right into the office space behind. A feature reception desk creates a dramatic focal point and works to highlight the CAP logo behind.

Two meeting suites opposite the reception area have been fully glazed on two sides to create a visual flow-through to the office space beyond, improving the entire space with a sense of integration and openness.

Kerrang!

When the rock music radio station Kerrang began broadcasting in Birmingham they needed studios and offices to cater for their expanding set of listeners with the flexibility to host live performances. 

The studios, office area and reception are all arranged around a central open plan café area whose walls can slide open to make a instant central performance space The Kerrang! identity suffuses the space with the studios and back walls of meeting rooms clad in leatherette panels in Kerrang's signature red

Wiltern Court

Spacelab reorganised a cluttered 1950s apartment, working with the client to concentrate storage needs along one wall. An exercise in life laundry, this storage wall runs continuously through the living and dining areas, and has enabled the owner to turn chaos into order, dramatically altering the way she lives in the apartment. Sliding doors have also been used to increase the sense of space in the apartment, and walls have been moved to enlarge the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. Concealed lighting enhances the newly streamlined look of the apartment.

Emap PLC

As EMAP’s design partners, Spacelab helped create a stylish new space for their central London HQ. Ensuring a striking first impression with an iconic reception desk that curves upward to meet a lowered ceiling. This ceiling element runs throughout, housing air conditioning, lighting and data cables.

Flexibility is built into the design: the boardroom and meeting suites are divided by panels of African black walnut, which can be folded back to create one large open space with integrated audio/visual facilities for meetings and functions.

AWG Cotton Valley

This project was a conversion of a redundant 1960's labratory building in Milton Keynes for Anglian Water Group. The building was de-contaminated and stripped back to its original structure. 

A simple white modern insertion was then made to the middle of the space which contains offices, meeting rooms, WC's, cafe, etc allowing all services to be contained within this one element. New mechanical services were then installed and left exposed to capitalise on the large window positions and to create generous floor to ceiling heights.

Alpheus

Alpheus, a water treatment company and party of the AWG Group needed to update their 1960s home and house and expanding business. The main part of the brief was to make the building work more effectively, changing the way people move around and through it to create a more fluid work environment.

Spacelab broke down the dated configuration, freeing up the space with a steel-framed ‘channel’ that begins at the entrance and flows through the lobby, reception area and out into the external space outside. The effect is a series of separate spaces that are seamlessly connected.