Universal Design Studio has brought in weavers, enamelers, and other creative makers to decorate workspaces within the Norton Folgate development in east London’s Spitalfields neighbourhood.
Norton Folgate is a 330,000 square foot mixed-use site comprising a total of six buildings, three of which have interiors curated by Universal Design Studio: 16 Blossom Street, Nicholls & Clarke and 15 Norton Folgate.
The buildings all date back to the Georgian or Victorian period, and are situated on the fringes of Spitalfields – a part of the capital that has drawn craftspeople since the 17th century, when it became a hub of the textiles industry.
The studio wanted to celebrate this history by incorporating contemporary makers into its design scheme.
“At the heart of this project was a commitment to craft, storytelling, and the art of making,” it said. “By integrating skilled makers early in the process, we ensured artistry, materiality, and narrative became intrinsic to the outcome.”
“This approach allowed for bespoke, site-responsive pieces that enriched the spaces, reinforcing the importance of handcrafted detail and the enduring value of skilled craftsmanship.”
Among the makers chosen is south London-based textile artist Lara Pain.
She was commissioned by Universal Design Studio to create bespoke woven curtains for 15 Norton Folgate, in a nod to the Huguenot weavers – a group of French silk weavers who fled to Spitalfields en masse in the latter half of the 1600s to escape religious persecution.
Pain’s curtains boast a subtle chequered pattern and can be drawn across tracks in the ceiling to provide privacy for pockets of seating throughout the office.
The building also features red oak joinery fabricated by Berkshire-based timber specialist Benchmark, which Universal Design Studio designed “with longevity in mind”.
“The timber was specified in individual, consistent thicknesses to allow easy disassembly and reuse without disrupting the whole system,” the studio explained.
“Wherever possible, timber is solid, finished with oil, and assembled using minimal adhesives and analogue fixings.”
Meanwhile, British enamelling company AJ Wells was asked to produce a meeting table that Universal Design Studio had envisioned for the Nicholls & Clarke building.
The resulting piece is composed of amorphous blocks of peachy-orange enamel that look as if they’ve been squashed together.
“By spending time in [AJ Wells’] factory, we gained a deeper understanding of pigmenting and shaping, adapting the table’s radii and colour palette to align with enamel’s capabilities,” the studio said.
London-based furniture designer Lewis Kemmenoe was then tasked with making large kitchen tables for each level of the four-floor 16 Blossom Street building, a decor feature that the studio says will “reinforce the importance of shared moments within the workplace”.
Each table is 4.7 metres long and crafted from solid elm wood, which Kemmenoe inlaid with hand-cut patches of walnut, ash, and mahogany veneer.
Norton Folgate is shortlisted in the large workplace interior category of this year’s Dezeen Awards.
Other contending projects include a mass-timber office for a forestry company in Helsinki and a co-working space in Melbourne that takes design inspiration from ancient Roman forums.
The photography is by Felix Speller.
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