London Design District launches first building

Design District launches A1 and here we have a hero exterior

(Image credit: Taran Wilkhu)

London's Design District has been one of the capital's most highly anticipated new neighbourhoods, and its first building, lot A1, Ravensbourne Univerisity’s brand new Institute for Creativity and Technology, has just opened its doors. The launch marks the completion of the very first structure in the District and a new era for the wider area, which now is officially welcoming its creative hub. Spanish-Italian architecture studio Barozzi Veiga is behind the design, which matches the wider scheme's ambition in a sleek, minimalist design that is breaming with colour and character.

Co-founded by Fabrizio Barozzi and Alberto Veiga, the studio created A1 as a block-shaped, gently asymetric, clean, volume clad in reflective aluminium. Spanning four storeys, the building contains the university’s graduate school, a start-up incubator, a research lab and a workshop. The spaces within have a utilitarian feel, featuring tall ceilings, large windows and hardwearing, industrial materials such as glass, birch ply, powder-coated steel and linoleum.

‘The opportunity to build something in London has always attracted us and our involvement in Design District gave us the possibility to do it in one of the most interesting development areas of the city,' says Veiga. ‘We are particularly glad that our first built project in London is also the first building to open at the Design District. We think this is a very nice coincidence and we hope it marks a great beginning both for our practice in the UK and for the new creative district.'

Barozzi Veiga is one of eight practices that were invited to create designs for the brand new London Design District - others include 6a Architects, Adam Khan Architects, Architecture 00, David Kohn Architects, HNNA, Mole Architects and SelgasCano. The Barcelona based practice is well known for its refined, contemporary designs, in particular in cultural institutions such as the Bündner Kunstmuseum. The Design District project is its first in the UK. They have also recently revealed their private homes, a set of apartment interior designs which reflect their pared down aesthetic and sophisticated architectural approach.

External view of the design district building

External image of an office building with white walls and carved out windows

Light blue railings and door frame in an office

Light blue ceiling and door and window frames

INFORMATION

barozziveiga.com

designdistrict.co.uk

Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).

With contributions from

Taran Wilkhu - Photography