House of style

3 March, 2010

Details
Project: Shubette
Design: BarbaraWeiss Architects
Size: 4,645 sq m
Completion time: Eight months

Now a sleek, minimalist headquarters of women’s fashion company Shubette, which markets garments under the Gina Bacconi label, it has come a long way from its beginnings as a dilapidated industrial unit from the Eighties.

Barbara Weiss Architects undertook the design and supervised the fit-out of what has become design studios, showrooms, sample making facilities, offices and a warehouse.

The building presented the usual challenges: the exterior was unwelcoming, and inside the space was split between a ground floor and a modified mezzanine; rooms had limited natural light and air circulation was poor.

The architects stripped the old façade to create a simple, elegant finish, and the entrance and reception exude a sense of quality that continues through the understated interior. The reception area is now welcoming, spacious, light and airy, and houses a bespoke desk in zebrano designed by Barbara Weiss Architects. A lighting feature of fluorescent tubes resembling icicles hangs above the reception desk and a stylish new staircase with glass balustrades takes visitors up to the main workspace.

When it came to designing the first floor, Barbara Weiss Architects considered Shubette’s working practices, concluding that a large, open-plan workspace would optimize workflow while also providing the most pleasant working environment. To retain the natural light, the space is now top-lit and cellular offices have glass partitions: even from the centre of the space, it’s still possible to see outside.

Weiss believes in taking a holistic approach to designing buildings, so areas such as the kitchenette and washrooms have the same attention as the main space. ‘It is a democratic workspace where every member of staff enjoys the same quality environment,’ say the architects. ‘By keeping things simple we have achieved a design that is clean, elegant and conveys the right image while being an efficient and functional building that is the working heart of the company,’ adds Weiss.