Morris + Company / Rawside Showroom, London
Boasting an all-new showroom, Rawside can now showcase its existing portfolio and also the products and designs it plans to bring to market.
Words By Emily Martin
Images By Julia Conway
PROJECT INFO
Size 218 sq m
Comletion July 2023
IN SUMMER 2022, commercial furniture brand Rawside unveiled its new London showroom sited in the Featherstone Building, located in the heart of the Old Street District. The new showroom space responds to the rapid growth and demand for Rawside’s designs as well as a place to exhibit its full portfolio of sustainable commercial furniture.
Rawside decided to mimic a gallery space rather than traditional retail showrooms, to allow each of their products to shine on their own account. This shows in how the company has presented its cooler edge that has allowed them to establish a foothold in the commercial and workspace furniture market
With new products consistently developed alongside other innovations in environmentally friendly materials, the showroom is a central base designed to highlight the conmpany’s creativity and high-grade offering to the commercial market.
Rawside decided to mimic a gallery space rather than traditional retail showrooms, to allow each of their products to shine on their own account. This shows in how the company has presented its cooler edge that has allowed them to establish a foothold in the commercial and workspace furniture market
‘Our vision was not only to showcase our existing portfolio but to also feature new and developing products,’ explains Liz Close, co-founder of Rawside. ‘We wanted to treat this as a working environment to test new and prototype products, so, alongside our existing product ranges, we’ve included lots of roadmap materials and designs to see how they are received and how well they perform’.
The showroom is situated on the ground floor of the building, and is flooded with natural light supplemented by the spot lighting descending from the ceiling
Designed by Morris + Company and completed in 2022, the Featherstone Building is a 127,300 sq ft industrial-inspired workspace with a contemporary finish on London’s iconic Old Street. Echoing the architecture of Victorian warehouses, the building features a brick façade, exposed concrete ceilings and generous windows.
Although based on the architecture of Victorian warehouses, Rawside’s showroom is full of modern touches and amenities
Situated on the ground floor, with dedicated entrance and attractive shop front, Rawside’s new space is primarily a showroom for the sales team as well as being ideally appointed for client and Rawside events.
‘The space was offered shell and core, so was a completely blank canvas, this suited us down to the ground,’ says Close. ‘We decided that we would take inspiration from gallery spaces rather than traditional retail spaces and keep the bones of the building visible. Using the beautiful concrete structures as our guide, we planned the space to allow each product to shine in its own area.’
Although based on the architecture of Victorian warehouses, Rawside’s showroom is full of modern touches and amenities
The central London showroom space follows the opening of Rawside’s manufacturing and warehouse facilities in Ropley on the edge of the South Downs National Park in Hampshire just a year ago.
A mature brand with a cool edge, having created a foothold in the commercial furniture market Rawside continues to develop new products in response to the needs of their customers and the dynamic workplace world – products that always stay true to their environmental values.
‘What appealed to us most, apart from the glorious blank canvas that the space offered, was the building’s outstanding environmental credentials. The Derwent London team really are committed to having a positive impact on the environment and this aligns beautifully with our core values,’ comments Close.
KEY SUPPLIERS
Flooring
PlusFloor www.plusfloor.com
Chroma Global Flooring www.phroma.im
Furniture
Rawside www.rawside.co
Seating
Enea Design www.neadesign.com
Glass Partitioning
Rawside
