Top award for Brixton’s Department Store

Frontage of the Department Store on Ferndale Road
Frontage of the Department Store on Ferndale Road

Brixton’s Department Store, the restored shop building that is now the Ferndale Road home of Squire & Partners architects, has gained a top national award.

A winner in the workplace category of the Royal Institute of British Architects annual awards, the Department Store is praised as “a wonderful case of preservation and updating”.

The judges say that the project “took an unoccupied and dilapidated former department store from 1906 and reimagined the buildings to create a series of inspiring work and social spaces for a multidisciplinary architecture and design practice.”

The new community Post Office – all it lacks is an exterior post box
The new community Post Office – all it lacks is an exterior post box

The brief included units for new and existing local businesses, including a community Post Office, coffee roastery, vinyl record store, delicatessen and a bar/restaurant.

“It is a stunning building which has been brought back to life,” say the judges. “It demonstrates exquisite and sensitive restoration, filled with beautiful material choice, attention to detail and wonderful spaces.”

The basement of the restored building is sometimes used for community meetings
The basement of the restored building is sometimes used for community meetings

They say that the project honours the building’s history by keeping graffiti, revealing original features and removing paint to original colours. All new items added to the building are highlighted in bronze, with an underlying colour scheme of gold and black.

Kaylene Alder runs a lino-cutting class in the Department Stores model-making room during last year's Brixton Design Trail
Kaylene Alder runs a lino-cutting class in the Department Store’s model-making space during last year’s Brixton Design Trail

“The ground floor model-making space provides inspiration to passers-by, who peer inside to see the display of what architects do and how we work,” say the judges.

Terrace of Upstairs at the Department Store – now a popular eating and drinking venue
Terrace of Upstairs at the Department Store – now a popular eating and drinking venue