Henry Wood House’s postmodernist bones are refreshed by Nice Projects in London
Nice Projects breathes new life into the Henry Wood House in London, offering ample flexible office spaces for modern workers

If Fora Space’s newly minted London outpost, Henry Wood House, sitting just across the road from the Langham Hotel and John Nash’s 1824 All Souls Church, is anything to go by, the days of the quotidian office space are well and truly numbered – no longer is co-working a novelty.
Step inside Henry Wood House by Nice Projects
It helps that London-based design studio Nice Projects (also behind the recent opening of restaurant Claudine in Singapore) was tapped to breathe new life into the Henry Wood House, a postmodernist pile built in 1964 on the site of St George’s Hall where the Prom concerts were conducted by Henry Wood after whom the building is named.
Taking up the first eight floors of the 18-storey building, the interiors are soothing on the senses and almost addictively tactile, thanks to a savvy mix of colours and textures that create a quietly relaxed, residential mood that so many other co-working spaces strive for, but rarely achieve.
‘I suppose just by having designed a lot of hospitality spaces, we know what makes a space feel inviting and warm, what elements make people want to spend time in a space, and how to make them feel comfortable,’ says Nice Projects’ co-founder Sacha Leong who, with his partner Simone McEwan, was careful to link the mood-board and materiality back to the building’s DNA.
There was certainly plenty to work on, not least the suite of co-working desks, hived-off offices, an entire sweep of meeting rooms on the fifth floor, a penthouse board room with panoramic views over West London, yoga nook, gym, and cafe.
Not surprisingly, the biggest challenge was keeping the different spaces from feeling repetitive, whilst still binding the whole with a unified design language.
Referencing the 1960s with a gimlet millennial eye, the designers have created an updated version that feels contemporary, yet warm and inviting. This included restoring the original terrazzo floors in the lift lobbies and refinishing the existing parquet floors.
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
‘We used a lot of natural, tactile, robust materials that would wear well,’ Leong and McEwan explain. ‘We also found many ways to be sustainable. We reupholstered old Vitra Eames desk chairs, and worked with Kvadrat to upcycle all the existing loose textiles into new table tops for the ground floor café.'
'Overall, we worked with a tight material- and colour-palette, using different tones and textures throughout, but in a way that makes the spaces feel coherent.’
The result is a fresh take on what is becoming a common working experience, especially in these post-pandemic times, Leong and McEwan bringing what they hope is ‘a sense of history, playfulness and life back into the building’.
Daven Wu is the Singapore Editor at Wallpaper*. A former corporate lawyer, he has been covering Singapore and the neighbouring South-East Asian region since 1999, writing extensively about architecture, design, and travel for both the magazine and website. He is also the City Editor for the Phaidon Wallpaper* City Guide to Singapore.
-
A street-like Pune clubhouse celebrates the ‘joy of shared, unhurried experiences’
A brick clubhouse in Pune by Studio VDGA reflects the fluidity and openness of the Indian way of life with a series of welcoming plazas, courtyards and lanes
-
A 432 Park Avenue apartment is an art-filled family home among the clouds
At 432 Park Avenue, inside and outside compete for starring roles; welcome to a skyscraping, art-filled apartment in Midtown Manhattan
-
Kitchen Trends 2026: luminosity, colour, and unexpected materiality
These are kitchen trends shaping interior design in 2026, from collaborative kitchens to warm luminosity
-
The inimitable Norman Foster: our guide to the visionary architect, shaping the future
Norman Foster has shaped today's London and global architecture like no other in his field; explore his work through our ultimate guide to this most impactful contemporary architect
-
Shard Place offers residents the chance to live in the shadow of London’s tallest building
The 27-storey tower from Renzo Piano Building Workshop joins The Shard and The News Building to complete Shard Quarter, providing a sophisticated setting for renters
-
Kengo Kuma’s ‘Paper Clouds’ in London is a ‘poem’ celebrating washi paper in construction
‘Paper Clouds’, an installation by Japanese architect Kengo Kuma, is a poetic design that furthers research into the use of washi paper in construction
-
Foster + Partners to design the national memorial to Queen Elizabeth II
For the Queen Elizabeth II memorial, Foster + Partners designs proposal includes a new bridge, gates, gardens and figurative sculptures in St James’ Park
-
Wolves Lane Centre brings greenery, growing and grass roots together
Wolves Lane Centre, a new, green community hub in north London by Material Cultures and Studio Gil, brings to the fore natural materials and a spirit of togetherness
-
A new London exhibition explores the legacy of Centre Pompidou architect Richard Rogers
‘Richard Rogers: Talking Buildings’ – opening tomorrow at Sir John Soane’s Museum – examines Rogers’ high-tech icons, which proposed a democratic future for architecture
-
At the Royal Academy summer show, architecture and art combine as never before
The Royal Academy summer show is about to open in London; we toured the iconic annual exhibition and spoke to its curator for architecture, Farshid Moussavi
-
This ingenious London office expansion was built in an on-site workshop
New Wave London and Thomas-McBrien Architects make a splash with this glulam extension built in the very studio it sought to transform. Here's how they did it