Inside The Foundry ’s Coworking Space in London

The Foundry is a coworking facility based in Vauxhall, London that provides office, meeting, conference and exhibition space for human rights focused organisations.

“At the entrance, The Foundry logo, laser cut from ply is mounted onto the concrete surface and the sliding doors are indicated by the gable design in blue with ‘IN’ and ‘OUT’ references. Internal door numbers were laser cut from ply and mounted directly onto the doors along with a flexible company name plate that can be changed with ease. Window manifestations replicate the wood strip weight and spacing.Continuing the theme of integrated design, it was important that the public art became part of the building. A series of narrative artworks based on profound statements made by great thinkers and human rights leaders, from world history past and present, were chosen by the local community from a large pool of researched quotes as ones in which they resonated with most. Interestingly the quote with the most quotes came from Anne Frank “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world” which now appears above the entrance on the soffit.Quotations appear throughout the building on both the concrete surfaces and white walls to create a narrative presence that reflects the place ethos. A large exterior metal anodised lettering quotation is displayed on the stairwell grill and reflects the nature of what is done ‘here’. A set of super-graphic portraits – Martin Luther King, Aung San Suu Kyi, Nelson Mandela and Abraham Lincoln – can be seen on the ground floor conference hall windows, each portrait made up typographically from the person’s own words”, said Studio Wolfströme

• Location: Vauxhall – London, England
• Date completed: 2014
• Size: 30,000 square feet
• Design: Studio Wolfströme and Architecture 00
• Photos: Jim Stephenson