Shed

Nick Stringer and Matt Smith met whilst studying interior architecture at Nottingham Trent, their paths crossed again in Hong Kong, and a few years later they came together once more, and in 2000 founded Shed.

Since then, they’ve worked in over 30 countries on retail, hospitality, workplace and exhibition projects, for clients such as Vertu, Harrods, Chaloub, Shinsegae, Kurt Geiger, Meat Liquor and Turnbull & Asser, as well as some private interiors clients.

Working with luxury clients from one side of the world to the other their projects also range in scale. For Chaloub they were invited to design the 96,000 sq.ft. level Shoe District and created four architecturally distinctive pavilions that have become destination points for visitors to the centre.

Closer to home their concept for Royal Warrant shirtmaker Turnbull & Asser embodies the spirit of their original Jermyn Street store. Retaining the charming characteristics of the space, it mixes town house with a gentlemen’s club, with furniture as beautifully and traditionally crafted as the products they display.

Their concept for Orée Boulangerie also showcases the strong tradition and heritage of the brand. With gold leaf lettering adorning the windows, the French boulangerie has a fresh and light contemporary interior. And with just a glass partition separating the baker from the front of house, customers are reminded of the freshness of the products.

We love their concept for Zelman Meats. Shed may have adopted a no frills approach, but with the oxblood leather seating and contrasting utilitarian tiling and Butch Anthony’s artworks hanging on the walls they have created a characterful and cosy, yet cool restaurant. Equally offbeat is Absurd Bird, a new chicken shop in Bath, the playful bird, pops up in surprising places around the shadowy interior.

Taking two simple ingredients: a unique idea borne out of the location, mixed with a no-nonsense approach and adding a portion of debauched anarchy, Shed has developed a design language now synonymous with MEATliquor. For their latest incarnation, located in a disused tram shed near Kings Cross station, they have managed to retain the raw integrity of the building. Dominating the space a graffiti-covered abandoned train carriage houses the bar and kitchen. The restaurant also features bench carriage seats and imagery (created by ilovedust) which reference the bygone era of British Rail. A great gritty and highly visual concept; the more you look, the more you see.

Following the success of earlier projects with Shinsegae, the department store commissioned them to create a destination dedicated to children. The storytelling theme captures children’s imaginations, with playful fixtures and fittings creating distinction between departments and encouraging a journey of discovery for yound and adult shoppers alike.

Still strong in their memory, and visible in each of their designs today, are the words spoken by their tutor at Trent ‘Whenever you put a line on a piece of paper, there has got to be a reason for it’.