1 Finsbury Avenue Reception
1 Finsbury Avenue is a Grade II listed building constructed in the early 1980s by Arup Associates (Peter Foggo). As the first building in the Broadgate development, it was significant in defining the speculative office typology in London. The recent refurbishment makes a number of modest interventions including roof terraces and a permeable ground floor with new reception. Shifting the emphasis from single tenancy to mixed-use retail, leisure and flexible co-working office space targeting tech occupiers reinforces British Land’s vision for a vibrant masterplan and public realm. The project re-establishes the public route through 1 Finsbury Avenue; an important element in activating the ground floor and connecting this building with Finsbury Avenue Square and the Broadgate Campus. In the centre of the lower atrium there is an installation designed in collaboration with artist Morag Myerscough which acts as a beacon of how this architecturally important and flexible office building has once again been reimagined.
I was commissioned to photograph the new relocated reception area, capturing the new furniture and lighting. The project partners include Allford Hall Monaghan Morris (AHMM) as the lead designers along with Tonik Edge, M3 Consulting as project managers, Exigere as cost consultants, ARUP as services consultants, Michael Alexander Consulting Engineers, and QOB fitout.
The circulation cruciform space is generous and intends to be a flexible area where a retail unit can inhabit or where there might be temporary pop-up stalls or art installations. The lower atrium is conceived as a gallery-like space to hold all these functions together; a destination or go-to space with inherent character of its own.
Two balconies of co-working breakout space fitted out by Gensler, overlook the new public room and the cruciform shape of the office reception.
The lower atrium is lit by an array of ‘polo lights’ consisting of tuneable LED fittings, which can be programmed as pixels, dimmed, and vary in colour temperature to align with tones circadian rhythm – a human centric artificial sky. The result is a striking art installation over the new public room.
