Rodić Davidson Architects set up shop in Bloomsbury!

As we have grown, we have been looking with increasing urgency for a larger office. A deadline was also set by the expiry of our 5 year lease in our former office in Staple Inn Buildings, Holborn. In early 2013 we found the perfect premises for sale – the former Jessops vintage camera store in Pied Bull Yard, Bloomsbury. The property forms part of a listed terrace of 6 houses (66-71 Great Russell Street) built by John Nash in 1777. It has dual frontage – with one aspect fronting the East Wing of the British Museum on Great Russell Street and the other ‘shopfront’ opening into Pied Bull Yard at the rear. The camera store had closed several years previously and the property had been empty for many years.  It was unloved, dark, gloomy and completely sealed by security shutters.

Before closure, the shop had previously contributed to the eclectic and boutique nature of the other occupiers of Pied Bull Yard.  The courtyard still has two camera shops but is now also home to The London Review of Books, Austin Desmond Fine Art, Truckles Wine Bar and the Cordon Bleu Cookery School.

We purchased the property in Spring 2013 after which we needed to obtain Planning and Listed Building consents for the refurbishment. The building needed considerable work which took several months to complete.  The layout of the building, while problematic for a retailer, is perfect for us.  There is space for over twice the number of desks as well as a meeting room, a reception area and a library.

We are now not hidden away in an office – we now have the visibility of a shop front and we are excited that this, combined with the central location, will allow us to engage with both existing and new clients in a subtly different way.

PDF DOWNLOAD of refurbishment work