Highgate Studios

General Projects approached us to transform a vacant unit within Highgate Studios into a Tenant-Ready workspace for future creative occupiers. The existing space was in poor condition and required a considered approach to create a flexible, functional environment that could be adapted by its next tenant. Drawing on the building’s history as a former bottle factory, we developed the design in-house, introducing industrial references through material choices while keeping the layout deliberately flexible.

Project in Brief

• Tenant-Ready fit out of a single unit within Highgate Studios
• Concept informed by the building’s history as a former bottle factory
• Concrete window boxing used as a key design feature
• Bespoke window frames created for the space
• Kitchen redesigned as a counter-height coffee bar
• Limited joinery to maintain flexibility for future occupiers
• Power distributed through trunking to allow future adaptation
• Furniture supplied by Platfform
• Project managed by Gardiner & Theobald

Designing for Future Occupiers

As a Tenant-Ready space, flexibility was central to the design. The unit needed to provide a strong starting point for its next occupier without prescribing how the space should ultimately be used.

The kitchen was redesigned rather than simply replicating the arrangement on the floor above. A counter-height worktop created a more informal coffee bar and provided a practical point for staff to gather during the working day.

Creating Cohesion Through Detail

The client was particularly drawn to the look and feel of the floor above and wanted the new unit to have a similar sense of character and cohesion. Rather than replicate the existing design, we took cues from its aesthetic and reinterpreted them within the new space, creating a complementary look that felt connected while remaining distinctive to the unit.

Alongside the design interventions, existing issues within the unit were addressed as part of the fit out. Poorly installed ductwork lagging was replaced with a higher-quality solution, improving the existing condition rather than simply concealing it behind the finished space.