Two distinguished grade two listed Georgian buildings at 28 and 29 Albemarle Street were bought by Graff Diamonds in 2000 and 2003 to be refurbished and converted into headquarters offices and jewellery workshops.
The brief was complicated as the building had to accommodate separate security areas and entrances for each of three functions – executive and reception areas, general office staff areas and jewellery workshop areas.
The jewellery workshops and design studios in the lower floors house around forty personnel. They are highly serviced spaces with special benching, extraction systems with dust retrieval, grinding and polishing machinery and specialist gasses. There is a staff restaurant area and kitchen serving this area.
The executive reception and boardroom areas are to a very high standard and involved considerable restoration of original features such as the ceiling plasterwork, windows and shutters, fireplaces etc. (see photos). There is also a small kitchen adjacent to the executive dining room.
The general offices include system desking and bespoke glass partitioning and timber faced storage systems. The level of IT servicing and air-conditioning is extremely high with a dedicated computer server and mainframe room.
In all three areas we were involved in every aspect of the design including the choice of furnishings, desking layouts, choice of light fittings etc and general interior design services. We designed and commissioned the bespoke boardroom table and dining room furniture and reception desk.
Location: Mayfair, London
Status: Completed 2001
