Restoration Journal
An architectural diary
March 2023
Preparing the Walls
The first act of restoration is always one of patience. Before any tool touches the surface, we spend days simply looking — mapping the cracks, noting where the plaster rings hollow, reading the history written in the staining patterns of a century of use. The walls of the Camden Road warehouse tell a story of adaptation: doorways bricked up, windows enlarged, partition walls added and removed. Each intervention left its mark.
Material
London stock brick, lime mortar
Condition
Structurally sound, surface deterioration
April 2023
Removing Decades of Paint
Steam and patience. Layer by layer, the paint comes away — each coat a different decade, a different purpose for this space. Beneath the final layer of industrial grey, we find a rich ochre that speaks of the warehouse's earliest years. The brick beneath is warm and varied, ranging from deep plum to pale salmon. We decide to leave certain patches of paint — archaeological windows into the building's chromatic history.
Material
Lead paint, lime wash, modern emulsion
Condition
14 identifiable paint layers
June 2023
Material Discoveries
Beneath the concrete screed of the ground floor, we discover the original York stone flags — each one three inches thick, worn smooth by a century of industrial use. In the walls, hidden behind later cladding, we find iron tie-plates stamped with the foundry mark of a long-defunct Bermondsey ironworks. These discoveries are not merely interesting; they reshape our design approach entirely.
Material
York stone, cast iron, lime putty
Condition
Exceptional, largely intact
September 2023
Studio Construction
The new elements are designed as insertions — freestanding structures within the existing shell, touching the original fabric as lightly as possible. The studio walls are framed in blackened steel, a deliberate contrast to the warmth of the brick. The floor is polished aggregate concrete, incorporating crushed limestone from the site itself. In this way, the old building literally becomes part of the new.
Material
Blackened steel, polished concrete, Douglas fir
Condition
New construction within existing envelope
November 2023
Lighting Installation
Light transforms material. Under tungsten, the brick glows amber; under daylight, it reads as cool grey. Our lighting strategy works with this duality — pendant fittings of hand-blown glass and blackened brass that cast warm pools of light in the evening, while the restored clerestory windows flood the space with north light during the day. The aim is a space that changes character with the hours.
Material
Hand-blown glass, blackened brass
Condition
Bespoke fabrication, installed
January 2024
Finished Spaces
To call a restoration 'finished' is perhaps a misnomer — a building is never truly complete, only paused between states of becoming. But the Camden Road warehouse has reached a moment of equilibrium: old and new coexist in a quiet conversation. The original timber trusses frame views of the polished concrete floor below. The restored brickwork breathes alongside new steel. The building has been given a new chapter, but the previous ones remain legible.
Material
Composite: original fabric + new insertions
Condition
Operational, ongoing patination