The best workplaces make you forget, for a moment, that you are there to work. Conductor—a 3,400 sqm flexible workspace in Stratford, East London—does just that. Designed by interior studio Tabitha Isobel in collaboration with designer Studio Multi for operator IWG within the Coppermaker Square development of URW, the project does not draw its cues from the collaborative playbook but from the spatial generosity of historic palm courts and the tactile warmth of interior visitors. The result is something that sounds truly amazing.
The atrium was the step that made everything else possible. It’s an open, flooded volume that the two studios immediately see as something to be designed for rather than passed over. Instead of reaching for hospitality tropes as decoration, they use them structurally: the spatial drama of historic palm courts, the literary warmth of hotel interiors, the sense that a place should move away and reveal itself during the day. The color palette followed the copper heritage of the surrounding Coppermaker Works, with rust, amber and deep ocher tones running visually from the floor to the furniture.
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The arrival sets the tone immediately. Solus ceramic floor tiles in terracotta and warm white are laid in an alternating pattern of bricks and blocks, creating a rhythm underfoot that plays against the exposed concrete columns and visible services above. The front of the reception desk is tiled in Dzek volcanic ash—subtle ocher tones combined with deep brown—a graphic, tactile edge that establishes the creativity of the project from the start. Soft sofas by &Tradition sit next to HAY lounge chairs on Nordic Knots rugs, and burl wood tables by Ferm Living complete the furniture scheme that reads more like a hotel lobby than an open-plan office.
Moving to the right atrium, the scale opens up significantly. Bespoke planters—again clad in Dzek tile, this time in vertical bands of a variety of green—climb graceful plantings that draw the eye up the double-height volume. Clear cylindrical pendants float overhead, their diffuse light changing with the light. A sunken dialogue pit, enhanced with deep wine tones by Panaz and sheltered under a Symphonic Acoustic canopy by Arktura, provides a strong contrast to the opening above. Nearby, the library draws on Celosia terracotta brick by Mutina to create permeable partitions that filter light while casting patterned shadows on the walnut paneling—a quieter, more enclosed register within the wider scheme.
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Studio founder Tabitha Organ makes it clear:“We wanted people to come in and be surprised that it was a work space. The atrium created an opportunity to design something immersive—a space that changes throughout the day and supports different ways of working. By layering materials, lowering the ceiling in certain areas and allowing light to filter in rather than blocking it, we were able to create intimacy without being closed off.”
Upstairs, end-grain oak parquetry by Ted Todd reflects the shift in register. From the mezzanine, the planting below is read as a canopy, maintaining a visual connection to the atrium while creating a psychological distance from its power. Bright private offices, retro booths and informal lounges sit next to each other, the palette is slightly cooler with blue sofas that provide a tonal counterpoint to the warmth of the terracotta below.
The operator does not try to look like a workplace. Tabitha Isobel and Studio Multi have delivered something very atmospheric: layered, thoughtful and based on the solidity of the materials that hold the space. In a field still finding its footing after the pandemic, this is the kind of project that changes the conversation.
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[Images courtesy of Tabitha Isobel. Photography by Jasper Fry.]