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Architecture practice, Selencky Parsons, have designed their own new office, featuring a room within a room in cork.

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Words by Clare Dowdy

Young architecture practice Selencky Parsons has relocated from a co-working space in south London’s Peckham to its own office in nearby Brockley.

Its new 45 sq m space is on the ground floor of a new corner building near Brockley station, so it has a high footfall. To give the staff of six some privacy, founders Sam Selencky and David Parsons designed a 30 sq m room-within-a-room-style studio pod. Their chosen material was cork. ‘We wanted a material that had an element of warmth and richness to it to contrast with the concrete floor and walls of the original shell,’ says Selencky.

New offices for Selencky Parsons were designed by the architecture practice itself

The walls, ceiling and floor of the pod are lined with a total of 120 sq m of cork, with a matt sealant applied to the floor. It was all sourced from one supplier: The Cork Flooring Company. ‘This was important as we wanted consistency throughout the surfaces,’ Selencky adds.

He lists the advantages of cork for this project: as well as being sustainable and great value for money ‘It has the added benefits of acoustic absorption to reduce reverberation; you can pin things on it without marking it, It is easy to work with and it smells great!’

The only possible downside is that it can fade in strong sunlight.