Design Studio Glasgow

Design Studio Glasgow – redesign and renovation

By its very nature, the process of design innovation is never the same twice. New product development requires a flexible and responsive approach as every project has to be shaped by its particular context, challenges and ambitions. It is for this reason that our studio is designed to cater for these varied demands.

The design and renovation of Jarvie’s Studio in Glasgow, Scotland was far reaching and transformational. Housed in the ground floor commercial unit of a traditional Scottish tenement, the project focused on shaping the atmosphere to be representative of the design house’s approach, while being sympathetic to the past – maintaining and restoring many irreplaceable features, including close tiles, meat hooks, decorative plaster work, original slab etc. The design project involved a complete renovation, requiring extensive demolition, masonry work, plastering, framing, plumbing, electrical work, joinery and the creation of three new windows. The large majority of furniture and fittings were custom designed and built for the project.

A key priority in the design was to create a space that could be flexible and responsive to the varied demands of the studios multidisciplinary approach. All of the non-fitted furniture is on wheels and a partition screen allows the space to be shaped in response to the projects at hand. A Ladder/Shelf hybrid allows swift access to a mezzanine area and the workshop can easily spill over to the main space when required.

The project was seen as an opportunity to learn new techniques and glean new knowledge, while tackling the challenges in the most economical and environmental way possible. The bulk of the materials and fixtures were recycled, bought second hand or built from reclaimed materials. This restricted the design choices and the build possibilities but helped maintain the project’s sense of place. An emphasis was placed on reusing or renovating as much of the original building fabric as possible.

The internal partitions of the original floor plan drastically reduced layout options. Despite only having a very small area of kitchen worktop the original kitchen was disproportionately large. The toilet occupied a corridor-shaped room and despite being claustrophobic was a very inefficient use of space. There was a small office, without an exterior window, adjacent to the kitchen at the back of the property. The foyer area was large to the extent that it impacted on the flexibility of layout options for the main space. The tenement close that runs along the right hand side of the property was of such a narrow and long proportion that it, as you may imagine, felt that you were in a corridor.

The revised floor plan illustrates the approach to remedy these issues. All suspended ceiling and the internal partition walls were removed. The kitchen was tucked to beneath the stairs, which resulted in a considerable increase in the worktop space while vastly reducing its footprint. The bathroom area was redefined and the size of the foyer was considerably reduced. The corridor was partitioned to create distinct spaces for both a small meeting room and a workshop.

The area above the bathroom is a multi functional mezzanine space and is made accessible through a hybrid design – The Ladder Shelf. This piece was designed to house documentation and to subtly accommodate a full size ladder.