Spitalfields Makers

Creating a sense of place in a commercial building isn’t always easy, especially when it’s just one more shiny glass tower among many. However, at the newly redeveloped Norton Folgate, designers Universal Design Studio had no such problem. Sited on the edge of London’s Spitalfields, this project stitches together several centuries of history and teems with fascinating back-stories and cultural references.

Having worked in collaboration with several makers to bring a sense of authenticity to every space, Universal Design Studio has also commissioned a series of short films about their work on the project – filling in context and giving these talented craftspeople an even greater platform.

“Film is such an evocative way of telling a story, and we wanted to communicate the process and narrative that went behind the finished pieces,” says Carly Sweeney, the studio’s director. The four films – christened The Spitalfields Makers Series – follow furniture-maker Lewis Kemmenoe; weaver Lara Pain; enamel specialists AJ Wells; and joinery workshop Benchmark.

“To have a neighbourhood as diverse and rich as Spitalfields to draw upon was a gift,” continues Sweeney. “Not only does it have an incredible legacy of artisans, artists and craftsmen, but it has been such fertile ground for the most innovative and pioneering artists, sculptors and makers in recent history.”

West London-based Lewis Kemmenoe made a ‘patchwork’ table, in elm with burr oak legs, for one of the kitchen areas at Norton Folgate. Its name comes from its intricate tabletop, which features inlays in various other timbers (walnut, oak, ash and beech) which trace the knots and grains of the elm slab.

“I’m keen on designing these pieces that have an organic nature to them but that can be seen as refined,” says Kemmenoe. “It’s this hand-made intricacy that referenced the approach that happened around the Arts & Crafts era.”

Like Kemmenoe, weaver Lara Pain is interested in making work that has an organic feel. “It’s that interaction with the material and the gut response you get when you make with your hands,” she explains. “If you automate everything, you lose those happy mistakes, and the interaction with the materials.”

The film captures the gentle, almost hypnotic rhythm of her hand-weaving in her south London studio. Her contribution to Norton Folgate is a large curtain that softens the interiors of one of the new-build parts of the development. It is her homage to the Huguenot silk-weavers who settled in Spitalfields in the late 17th-century; slashed and cut sections of the curtain hint at occupational unrest, and the weavers’ frequent struggles with their masters.

Fast-forward to the early 20th century and Nicholls & Clarke – specialists in paint, vitrolite glass, sanitaryware and architectural ironmongery – dominated this corner of Spitalfields, expanding across the Norton Folgate site as it bought up more property. The Nicholls & Clarke name lives on as part of the redevelopment, with warehouse space that merges into contemporary offices. Using the company’s history with vitrolite glass as a springboard, Universal Design Studio working with enamel specialists AJ Wells to make several pieces of furniture that echo the glossy, pigmented material associated with streamlined art deco design.

The hero design is a modular meeting table on the building’s top floor in a peachy-terracotta tone. Tessellating enamel tops are intended to echo the bird’s eye view of the network of streets that can be spied on from the windows.

Esteemed British joinery firm Benchwork worked with the studio to create a suite of furniture across the buildings. Made from American red oak – chosen for its abundance and low carbon footprint as well as its beautiful grain – the furniture is designed to be easily demountable for reuse, and easily repaired, to ensure a long life.

The film shows joiners in Benchmark’s Hungerford workshops using their “unrivalled expertise” to create these pieces, which act as a thread that weaves through the various buildings. The project has since become a key case study for the company, demonstrating how sustainable principles can be used at scale in a commercial project.

The eventual end users of these buildings will no doubt feel the thought and care that have gone into the interiors when they take up residence. “Even if you don’t know the story behind them, you can’t miss their beauty,” says Sweeney of the poetic work that the films focus on. “You can feel the texture on the table tops where Lewis has hand carved the veneer into the oak top.  You will notice the strange cut threads where Lara has snipped on her hanging textile in her secret nod to the Huguenots.

“Moments of craft and innovation are interwoven, bringing beauty, tactility and atmosphere to Norton Folgate. They serve to elevate and bring joy to our everyday experience.”