2 Kingdom Street 2
‘British Land is delighted with the outcome of this refurbishment and it continues to be referenced within the business as one of our most successful receptions’
Isabel Turner, British Land
British Land appointed JoWhiteDesign to design a second phase of work at 2 Kingdom Street, Paddington Central. We were familiar with the building, having delivered the atrium scheme in 2015. Here was a new project with a social aim. The existing reception was elegant but cold and sterile, clad predominantly in white painted metal panels. The high spatial volume, although impressive, seemed to discourage people from gathering and lingering. Our brief was to bring a buzz of activity to this empty space and design a fluid connection to a new adjacent coffee shop, allowing the functions of waiting, meeting and coffee to combine.
With the formal reception desk removed, we reinvented the large double-height lobby to create a public piazza for tenants and visitors. We replaced the metal cladding with a double-height wall of rough-sawn oak, designing deep openings at a human scale. One opening forms the entrance to the new coffeeshop - the other is a recess panelled with earth-coloured polished lacquer to reflect activity and light. Here we created a warm hub as a focus for the new internal terrace which includes cafe tables, informal meeting, relaxed seating and event areas. We collaborated with Jason Bruges Studio who was commissioned to create a light sculpture for the reception, Icosahedral Sky. We worked the scheme to incorporate the spectacular canopy of lights which fills the space, maintaining a dialogue of forms, materials and textures between the elements.
To extend the natural, crafted quality of the new interior, we designed bespoke cabinets in rough-sawn oak and black-rolled steel to house a collection of books, plants and lamps. We continued the homely, human approach by adapting an old industrial rise-and-fall work bench to provide a high meeting table. Our aim was to achieve a sense of warmth and welcome, previously lacking. New polished granite floor finishes are set off by deep-pile wool rugs, matt grey table tops are echoed in the matt grey light pods which contrast with the multifaceted, scintillating reflectors. A white glass coffee table reflects subtly changing and beautiful qualities of light, encouraging their contemplation.
Completed 2019
