In this final case study, visits the ‘professional home’ of PSLab in London. Designed by JamesPlumb, this space is neither an office nor a showroom, but functions as both.

Founded by artists Hannah Plumb and James Russell, Londonbased studio JamesPlumb has spent the past decade straddling the worlds of space and sculpture. Rich yet raw, their interiors ennoble imperfection and are imprinted with narratives. Take Aēsop Lamb’s Conduit Street in London, for example. When the designers were handed the location for the store, they were drawn to the site’s connection to water. (In 1577, the street was christened with William Lamb’s name after he donated money to rebuild an underground conduit). Water – viewed by the designers as a ‘material’ to be subtly and elegantly controlled – became central to the retail environment’s concept. Another key factor became lighting, which is how Plumb and Russell met PSLab. They consulted with experts at the Beirutborn lighting company via Skype to find the perfect balance of product illumination and water reflection. “From the outset our processes and ways of working aligned,” says Plumb, “so we were delighted when they asked us to collaborate on the design of their London home.”

The project would be JamesPlumb’s largest – and first architectural – project to date. Innately artists, Russell and Plumb had developed an Aēsop store that could be mistaken for an art installation – a multisensory experience that just happens to sell products. PSLab London is also typologically ambiguous: grounded in hospitality, it is neither an office nor a showroom yet functions as both. It’s a theatrical space for PSLab to exhibit and explain light and optics to its (potential) clientele, and a workplace for its London team.

JamesPlumb is known for uncovering beauty in the everyday – and what could be more everyday than eight hours spent at the office? But by focusing on the culture of their client – “Lebanese culture is one of the warmest and most welcoming we have ever experienced,” says Russell – the studio imbued PSLab’s London home with just that: a sense of home. “Multiple visits to the mothership in Beirut, as well as their other spaces such as in Stuttgart, showed us first-hand the organic way they work. We always referred to the project as a ‘home’ – albeit a professional home – and approached the design as such.”