Brinkworth

Adam Brinkworth started his consultancy in 1990 and was joined very shortly after by Kevin Brennan. Their backgrounds and experiences complement each other well; Adam with a background in furniture design, and Kevin in architecture and design.

We’ve long been admirers of Brinkworth and their work, even down to their Christmas greeting films; which are beautifully produced and demonstrate the thought and craft behind their projects.

Based in East London, their studio began as their workshop, where they honed their skills in the craft of design and build.

The consultancy works across a range of disciplines including architecture, interior and brand design, and has completed projects for an array of brands, from Google to Heineken, All Saints and Selfridges, to Carhartt, Puma, Fiorucci, Adidas and Supreme, as well as working on projects with the likes of Dinos Chapman.

Supreme has been a client for over a decade now, and their latest store in San Francisco sees them working with the brand and the Wilson Brothers once more. The skate culture, synonymous with the brand takes centre stage with a beautifully crafted indoor skate bowl suspended from a mezzanine. The timber exoskeleton is equally stunning as a sculptural artwork within the space, which is punctuated by Mark Gonzales’ playful 7’ tall sculptures.

For All Saints, they created the highly recognisable store concept featuring Singer sewing machines, which lined the shop’s windows. This was also one of the first high street brands to open a store in the now very popular area of Spitalfields.

Many will also be familiar with their work for Rapha, their Clubhouse spaces not only sell road bikes, clothing and accessories we’d all like to own, but bring cycling communities together, through a concept which places equal importance to both the social and retail facets. High tech materials are used in the design of the retail area, whilst the café has a more relaxed feel. With over twenty Clubhouses around the world the concept has been hugely successful and Brinkworth has been successful in creating spaces where the passion for road-racing is palpable.

Brinkworth had to consider a site-specific design for Voodoo Ray’s pizza restaurant in Shoreditch’s Boxpark. The shipping container format features a dynamic colour banding and cartoonlike pizza graphics, which all add a playfulness to the space.

Their meticulous attention to detail is evident in Linley – David Linley’s furniture store. Famous for the marquetry that he uses in his furniture, Brinkworth’s design doesn’t try to replicate, but pays tribute to Linley’s craftsmanship through beautiful detailing throughout. The clean lines of their concept create a simple aesthetic that allows Linley’s furniture to be displayed at its best. In a more recent project for Moscow skate store Oktyabr, their sensitivity to materiality is equally apparent, though the palette used here has a raw, urban aesthetic.

Different again from any of their other projects is the new global retail concept which they have designed for ASICS on Regent Street. The concept uses colour, action poised mannequins and linear interior design features to create a really dynamic sense of movement in the space. Central to this is a great lighting installation running the length of the store (which pulsates at the same pace as the heart rate of a 100m sprinter). In addition, there’s a playful robotic display in the window and a robotic shoe delivery system which enhances delivery of stock to the shop floor. Just some of the elements that play on the brand’s ‘sound mind, sound body’ ethos and make ASICS an inviting store to shop.

Jason Markk’s sneaker-freak shoe care store, makes great use of the corridor-like space, which is tucked away above Size? on Carnaby Street.

For Browns East, they took learnings from the brand’s experience with Farfetch, to create a store that reflects consumers changing shopping habits with a concept that features a series of installations and fixtures that can easily be changed or moved to give customers a different experience each time they visit.

Selfridges is well known for its experimentation, but unlike most installations, the skate create in collaboration with the consultancy is permanent. Offering sessions, lessons and curated events with fashion labels and magazines, it’s helping to attract a new audience to the department store.

Creating a second home for fifty-year-old cult Soho jewellery brand The Great Frog, they have created a concept that celebrates the richness of the brand’s dark, neo-gothic character giving the store a distinctive yet contemporary aesthetic.

A must visit is the Samsung Experience Centre at Coal Drops Yard, located under the famous ‘kissing’ point of Heatherwick’s roofs, Brinkworth has created a series of flowing spaces that beautifully complement the architecture, displaying beautiful materiality and the attention to detail and craftsmanship have come to expect of the consultancy.

We always look forward to seeing the latest projects from Brinkworth.