LTA/SpareMove, Forest Gate

The brief:

Moving to a new, two-floor East London office gave LTA/SpareMove the chance to refine its brand and accommodate expansion. With a set budget in mind, the client wanted to know what was possible in the space. The MPL design team produced different layout iterations to illustrate the balance between maximum occupancy and compliance-led comfort. Once the space plan was agreed, the aim was to achieve an industrial aesthetic with soft undertones.

Our approach:

The new premises was a corner site at the bottom of a large block of flats. The previous business – a kitchen show room – had vacated, leaving the space in a fair condition superficially.

MPL’s previous site surveys had, however, identified a hotchpotch of services that would need repositioning to facilitate the new space plan and desk layout. The first fix also included a full strip out to remove old partitions and flooring.

All change on the ground floor

New electrical and lighting rings were installed, together with a new HVAC system and two cloakrooms – one fully accessible. Crittall-style glass partitions and full-height stud walls allowed us to reorganise the internal square footage to create three private offices and a staff kitchen on the ground floor.

The mezzanine level was left largely open plan, although new Crittall partitions were used to create a glass box-style meeting room overlooking the street. MPL chose to reflect the Crittall style on all sides, swapping the plane glazing with slim, black steel framed and grid replacements.

A window into their world

The client was keen to keep the shop front glass completely unobstructed and transparent – an unusual choice for an estate agent. With this in mind - together with its corner position and location directly opposite Wanstead Park train station - there was emphasis on creating a head-turning interior design.

Back to black

The main branding tool became an internally-lit wall logo in the reception area, using built-up acrylic letters in white to contrast against the black tongue and groove wall cladding. Using black as a base colour set the industrial tone, picking up the existing steel balustrades and Crittall details.

Matt black paint has been applied to a number of the walls and continues across to the furniture, skirting boards, picture frames and light fittings. Extra industrial flavour comes in the form of concrete-effect, commercial-grade vinyl flooring and white-washed, exposed-brick wall cladding.

Shades for style

Colour contrast is achieved with a sophisticated colour palette that has an inherent softness. Forest green, burnished gold and dove grey create depth and richness, appearing as colour-blocked wall paint, upholstery fabric and artwork. The look is finished with faux plants for texture.

Additional elements

As well as specifying and sourcing all of the office furniture, MPL also customised the reception desk, created bespoke understairs storage cupboards and installed vertically-mounted timber in the reception to create slat-style privacy surrounding the customer seating.