Designed with Integrity: Russian For Fish’s Studio Space
There’s a reason why Apartamento magazine is such a success. The opportunity to nose inside the personal spaces of some of the world’s most prominent creatives is too delicious to resist.
Here’s the thinking: if someone’s talent for designing beautiful spaces for other people is good enough to earn them a living, imagine how beautiful the space is when designed by that same person without the constraints of a client brief. In this sense, the opportunity to nose inside the personal space of an architect is the ultimate expose; a little like the gossip column of the architecture world. It is exactly for this reason that we are telling you about Russian for Fish’s new self-designed studio.
Russian for Fish first moved to Durham Yard in 2011. Seven years later, the architecture practice has relocated to a larger space in the same complex. Unit 16 will house Russian for Fish alongside six other practices and, by its very nature, adopts a collaborative and open approach. While Russian for Fish’s former studio was designed in a somewhat “hotchpotch” manner, Unit 16 is the polar opposite. Every single element of the new space has been considered.
As the final touches are made to the space, we caught up with Russian for Fish’s Founder and Director, Pereen d'Avoine, for the inside scoop.
The new studio is in Durham Yard, the same place as your former studio. Is that a coincidence?
We have been waiting a long time for a larger studio to come up as we couldn’t bear the thought of leaving Durham Yard. We've been here since 2011 and we love the building. The Winkley Estate was built between 1898 and 1904 with a mix of residential accommodation alongside three small factories and numerous cabinet makers’ workshops. It is now the core of the Old Bethnal Green Road Conservation Area. Durham Yard was one of the industrial buildings that housed the cabinet makers and, until recently, we occupied one of the shop front units.Tell us about the new space…
The new studio, Unit 16, is on the second floor of Durham Yard. It is 70m², about three times the size of our old space, and has a vaulted ceiling and windows front and back. The space will be painted a brilliant white, with a mid-grey floor. We want the walls and floor to act as a neutral backdrop to the furniture that we have created with the designer Gavin Coyle [more on that below].
Along the flank wall there will be a series of low-level units and a full-width bookshelf. The low-level units will provide lots of storage for everyday office items, all of which can be shut away behind doors. The worktop above these units will create a wide display shelf for all our models and will also create space for more mundane objects. The centre of the space will house three work desks, a meeting table and a further display unit, which doubles up a visual privacy screen for the meeting table.
There will be a few of us moving into the space: RFF, my father's practice, Pierre d'Avoine Architects, and four smaller practices. It will be a real architectural hub which his really exciting.
What materials are you incorporating into the design?
The material palette is simple: dark grey and oiled Valcromat has been used for the cupboard fronts, bookshelves, desktops and display shelves. Beech acts as a tonal contrast to the darkness of the Valchromat and provides a visual highlight that draws the eye through the space. The desks have been designed with beautiful tapered, solid beech table legs.
The slightly pale pink undertone of the beech complements the gold Russian for Fish ironmongery, which is used on all the cupboard doors, and the brass of the Tala LED pendants which are used throughout the space.
As a contrast to the Valchromat and the natural timber, we have chosen to use a Smile Plastic for the meeting table. The tabletop is speckled white with the lids and labels of the recycled yoghurt pots that were used to make it. We have even spied a bit of travelcard!
Tell us about the decision to use Valchromat and beech?
We have seen black Valchromat used very successfully in residential interiors, most recently the beautiful interiors created by Jonathan Tuckey for King’s Cross Gasholders project by Wilkinson Eyre. It is a great project and we have been curious to test Valchromat ourselves. Gavin strongly felt that we should use a natural timber for the interior. When oiled, the dark grey Valchromat takes on an almost midnight blue tone and when Gavin showed us it against the beech we were completely sold!
How have you found designing an office for your own use? Is it a challenge being both the client and the architect?
It's been a thrill. Over the past seven years, we have furnished the old studio in a somewhat hotchpotch manner, but we've saved up in order to fit this one out exactly as we would like. It is important that the studio is functional on a daily basis but can also be a showroom. We can invite clients to the office, they can see our door handles in use, they can understand our attention to detail, the level of finish we aspire to, the holistic vision we bring to a space and appreciate the talent of the designers we collaborate with.
A highlight of the project?
One of the best things has been the opportunity to work with designer Gavin Coyle. We have worked with Gavin for years, recommending him to clients, but finally he can create bespoke pieces of furniture for us too. Working with Gavin is really collaborative – he has a great eye and totally understands what we are trying to create. Both of us have a fairly minimalist approach to the material palette and share the same views on furniture detailing. Architecture studios are busy – we have samples everywhere, cladding tests, models, drawings, prints etc – so the underlying space needs to be calm.
What brief did you give for the furniture?
We gave Gavin the sizes of the furniture we needed. We said that we would like to use Valchromat, although we were not specific with regards to the tone of grey, and a Smile Plastic for the meeting table. Gavin is incredibly knowledgeable about the way in which materials behave and their inherent strengths so he designed the desks accordingly. We had seen a bedside table of his with really elegant tapered legs, so we were super keen for him to incorporate something similar.
Why was it important to commission bespoke pieces of furniture rather than purchase pre-existing pieces?
Apart from allowing us the opportunity to finally work with Gavin on a personal project, it was also an opportunity to test certain materials. We have wanted to specify Valchromat and Smile Plastics in several of our residential projects, but to do so we need to understand how they perform under daily wear and tear. The furniture is a sort of test bed for us – in the same way that we test samples of stone, quartz and cast concrete with tumeric, red wine, lemon juice when specifying kitchen worktops.
Your father will also work in the new office, what’s it like working it such close proximity to a relative?
When I was young my parents both worked from home. It was great: until my early teens, my dad was always around and I was always looking at drawings or helping with models. After my masters I worked part time for him, I teach with him and, for the last four years, he has also had a studio in Durham Yard.
In addition to working with my father, my very talented brother Claude created the Russian for Fish’s identity and branding and, until very recently, my mother has been our accountant! So, in all honestly, I'm not sure I know what it's like to not work in such close proximity with family! Thankfully Nilesh and Pierre – and the wider family – all get on really well. A few times Nilesh and I have been asked if we are related. We're not, but we are family!
How will the space reflect your architectural approach?
The spirit of the space reflects our approach: it is calm, robust and practical, as well as being warm and tactile. It’s a place that we’ll enjoy spending time in. It also reflects our integrity. We don't like to specify products without testing them and so the studio’s interior will be a sort of test bed. We also like to reuse materials and recycle where possible so the Smile Plastic tabletop and the brass light fittings are conversation starters around these topics. The space is not just a space for us, but a space for our co-workers, it provides space for conversation, for the sharing of ideas, for impromptu design reviews, for the odd moan...it reflects the very nature of collaboration.
8 Andrews Road
London
E8 4QN