Office Interior

City of London Office Interiors by ID:SR by Alex Upton

100 Bishopsgate, Interior office design by ID:SR. Images: Copyright © Alex Upton

100 Bishopsgate, Interior office design by ID:SR. Images: Copyright © Alex Upton

In the early autumn of 2020, when normality, accompanied by a faithful companion complacency, appeared to have tentatively returned to our daily lives. A time when workers were finally jettisoning their ‘work from home’ attire - lower-body: pyjamas, upper-body: vaguely presentable shirt - and relinquishing the prospect of conducting any further business meetings through a pixelated portal from the comfort of their beds, I was commissioned by Sheppard Robson architects to photograph the new office spaces their interior design team, ID:SR, had created for a prestigious international client. The offices were located across several floors of the recently completed 100 Bishopsgate tower in the City of London financial district, where the workers were set to return.

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100-bishopsgate-interior.jpg

The tower itself, a mixed use development rising over 172 meters, with 40-storeys of office space, was designed by Allies and Morrison architects. With each occupant having different requirements for their work spaces, the interior design work was to be taken up by a design team chosen at the tenants discretion. As regular visitors to my blog will know - or visitor - I have worked with Sheppard Robson on a number of architectural photography projects. With previous commercial commissions, such as the offices at One Creechurch Place, the individual floors plates are usually austere shells awaiting the clients before they are fitted out, so in this case it was nice to be able to focus my camera on the interior design work and not solely the structural details.

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Before elaborating any further on the particulars of the building and extolling the qualities of the interior design, I feel obligated to draw your attention to one, not so inconspicuous fact. It might soon, if not already, have come to the perceptive viewers attention, that several of the people in the photographs reappear throughout the various settings. This was neither a coincidence nor the result of several office workers clamouring for stardom before the lens by following me from one location to the next. No, this was the result of an entirely different set of circumstances, ones which necessitate the artifice behind much architectural photography. While I favour capturing a space in an uncontrived as possible manner sometimes it is just not practical to do so.

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100-bishopsgate-interior.jpg

The office was still several days from being fully occupied and with interior photography it is often optimal to begin the work before such an occasion occurs, for in a matter of minuets a neat and orderly office can descend into a cacophony of hurried bodies and out of place furniture. Once clear shelves become a cascade of spilled pages, desktops submerge beneath mounds of spreadsheets, all precariously crowned with a slightly broken, but faithful office mug. So in some cases it is therefore preferable to enlist the help of models - in this case several of the interior architects whom worked on the project.

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The first significant change ID:SR made to the original floor plates was the installation of staircases connecting the company offices at each level, saving employees from having to make repeated trips in the lift. Personal offices with glazed fronts surround the perimeter of the space, each with amazing views looking out onto the emerging cluster of skyscrapers. Moving inward towards the buildings core are a variety of private consultation rooms, collaborative work spaces and meeting rooms. Amongst these are kitchen and dining areas and less-specified seating areas where work or relaxation can take place individually or collaboratively. Notable is how the architects have made each space feel both distinct but also part of a cohesive whole and the variety of work spaces offer flexibility of use eschewing the conformity of old.

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100-bishopsgate-interior.jpg

Colours, materials and furniture vary throughout, but each distinct area of use often replicates similar design features distinguishing their intended purpose, even if size and layout differ slightly. Having spent a considerable amount of time exploring the building and photographing each space I came to the conclusion that I could happily take up residence in one of the private offices overlooking the City, whether I could get much work done while gazing out upon the urban vista is another matter entirely. With the current situation still ongoing it sadly may be some time before these sophisticated, well designed offices are fully occupied. So for now they remain a fragment of hope in the minds of workers relegated to their kitchen table desks and daily zoom briefings. For readers wishing to see the complete set of interior photographs of 100 Bishopsgate, they can be found in the projects section of my portfolio.

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100-bishopsgate-interior.jpg

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion by Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Location: Cannon Bridge House (The River Building) 25 Dowgate Hill, London UK.
Architect: Stiff + Trevillion
Developer / Contractor: Blackstone Group / Lend Lease
Photography Client: Structura UK

The multidisciplinary West London architectural and design practice Stiff + Trevillion have recently completed both an internal and external refurbishment of Cannon Bridge House, which is situated on the north bank of the Thames River in central London. As the internal fit-out was nearing completion the client Structura UK requested photography of the interior office spaces, with a focus specifically on the curtain walling system they installed.  

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House or The River Building as it is now known had gone unmodernised since the early 1990's and was no longer suitable to cater for the demands of a 21st century office space. With the buildings central location it was a prime subject for redevelopment by the developer and owner Blackstone.

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

The alterations made to the original structure are succinctly noted by the architects: 

'Upgrading of the southern building elevation. Redesign of the existing building entrances on Cousin Lane. Improved  glass link on the 1st floor between the Atrium and River Building. Reduction in the size of the River Building atrium roof.'

Cannon Bridge House Interior. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House Interior. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

One of the defining features of the building internally is the convergence of two diagonal panels of glazing, which at their meeting point command amazing views South of the Thames River. If that wasn't stimulating enough for the buildings soon to be occupiers there are also trains silently passing under the building as they cross the river along Cannon Street Rail Bridge. Internally it is hard to picture the building from the outside as its now modern interior contrasts sharply with its yellow brick exterior and the wide arches that perforate it at intervals.

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Another exciting part of the development, which I am unfortunately unable to provide photographic evidence of, is the new roof garden which provides an area of respite for the busy office workers below. Unusually for a city often hidden beneath a horizontal wall of grey, watery vapour the sky garden has emerged as an essential feature of any new office development. This has given rise to all manner of extra curricular horticultural happenings taking place in the cities upper atmosphere, unbeknownst to the uninitiated citizens of the streets below. Adjacent roof gardens now rival each other for the most finely preened shrubs in an undeclared topiary showdown which has produced hedges of logic defying geometries.

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House by Stiff + Trevillion. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Returning inside the building you are greeted by a central atrium which rises up two floors to be met by an arched, glazed roof allowing natural light to flood into the building. Unfortunately at the time i was photographing the site there were still on-going maintenance works around the atrium which limited the images I could capture.

Cannon Bridge House Atrium. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Cannon Bridge House Atrium. Photography: Copyright © Alex Upton

Leaving Cannon Bridge House that day after several hours of photography I couldn't help wishing that I might one day spend a day there as a worker, enjoying the view of the trains traversing the river below and popping up to the roof garden at lunch time for a spot of high-rise relaxation among the finely sculpted foliage. Having not seen the building internally before its makeover it is hard to visualise what existed in its place. What is evident though, is that Stiff + Trevillion's redevelopment has created a modern, light filled space which incorporates elements of the original structure, brickwork and steel, in a manner that gives prominence to them rather than hides them from view.  It is a great space, with many additional attributes provided by its location and history.