Interchange has opened Atrium, its flagship building situated in the heart of Stables Market in Camden, with a series of interventions and furniture pieces designed by Tom Dixon's Design Research Studio. The new complex will offer a range of facilities across four floors, including 600 work stations (both in private offices and hot desking areas), a courtyard, events space, restaurant, innovation lab and cafe, plus a gym is planned for later this year.
Atrium is the flagship building of Interchange's three available office spaces in Camden. Triangle, with interiors also by Design Research Studio in collaboration with Barr Gazetas, opened in October 2015. Atrium and other site Utopia provide larger office space for growing and established companies. In total, the Camden Interchange buildings span 84,000 sq ft.
The project is the first of its kind for Design Research Studio and the approach to the interior design strays from a typical office format. Design Research Studio were inspired by the communal, social spaces of hotels and club-like environments and sought to add flexibility to the space that encourages creativity and productivity.
The office and co-working hub has been spacially designed by leading architects Barr Gazetas and focuses on communal productivity via expert floor planning and layouts. Interchange's custom lighting and furniture has been designed exclusively by British designers including Tom Dixon and Design Research Studio. Notable features include Design Research Studio's custom lighting installation in Atrium's four-storey central foyer and the cluster of signature Tom Dixon Melt pendant lights in the core of Triangle's hotdesking area, which provides 360 degree views of the surrounding area. Barr Gazetas' unique design of the Atrium building features a central spiralling walkway, with interaction spaces and covered terraces, including vertical gardens.
Interchange tenants already confirmed to move into Atrium, include: Cisco Create (a division of Cisco focusing on new technologies); Fever Up, an event recommendation app; Satago, a fintech company; and Inpost, a delivery startup. Further current Interchange tenants include: Osper, a company specialising in mobile banking for young people; Doctify, a site which connects patients with healthcare professionals; and early-stage startup accelerator, IncuBus. In addition to the wealth of facilities and support on offer, Interchange tenants also have the unique opportunity to establish their own retail spaces in the iconic Camden Markets, which has over 28 million visitors per year.
"Camden Market's prehistory as a hub for commerce, transport and technology since the industrial revolution appealed to us from a conceptual point of view, and it's more recent past as a place for radical music, fashion and retail makes it a great backdrop for the fast moving and impatient world of start-ups and tech companies," Dixon commented.