Mix Awards
Workplace (<5k sqft) Winner
dMFK’s office at 76 Charlotte Street is a showroom of architectural product and process. The street-level 45-person workspace occupies the former home of Channel 4, now transformed into a light, open studio shaped around comfort, calm and face-to-face collaboration. Downstairs at dMFK extends the office below ground into Channel 4’s former recording studio, creating not only additional room for a growing team but also opportunities to showcase experimental materials and host events. The layout and aesthetic draw on ideas developed through years of workplace design experience.
- Location
- Fitzrovia, London
- Size
- 4,500 sqft
- Client
- dMFK
When dMFK moved into the ground floor at 76 Charlotte Street in 2022, the studio was conceived as the first phase of a longer-term ambition. Much of the practice’s work for leading flexible office providers explores how offices need to look and function to draw people back after extended periods of home working. Designed with Sher + White, the studio was intended as a testing ground for those ideas: an agile, high-quality workplace prioritising face-to-face collaboration, comfort and everyday wellbeing.
From the beginning, there was an ambition to eventually extend below ground. Securing the basement allowed us to unlock a different kind of space – one dedicated to everything we couldn’t do upstairs. Downstairs at dMFK was conceived as a place for material exploration, learning and hosting: somewhere to display a growing sample library, invite suppliers in to share new ideas, and host our clients and collaborators. It completes the studio as a platform for exchange.
Before and After
Upstairs, the existing showroom was carefully reconfigured to open up the back of the L-shaped plan, bringing daylight into the rear of the studio. Designed to allow for different types of work, it features three meeting zones with different characters, focus booths, family tables and efficiently planned desk spaces for up to 45. There is also a strong focus on less visible features such as air quality, comfortable acoustics and a gentle combination of natural and artificial light.
Downstairs, a formerly low-ceilinged, lightless post-production studio has been transformed into Downstairs at dMFK – a living sample library that blurs the line between office, gallery and social space. Conceived as a place for material exploration and exchange, it allows innovative products to be tested, assembled and discussed with suppliers and collaborators, while supporting flexible work, workshops, exhibitions and intimate events embedded in the studio’s daily life.
