Alphabeta is a new creative workspace set over nine storeys and situated between the economic powerhouse of the City of London and it's trendier counterpart, Shoreditch. With emphasis placed on providing a realm for opportunity and surprise Alphabeta encourages new activity, chance encounters and creativity.

The atrium is seen not as simply an entrance route or waiting area but as a working extension of the demised spaces above. Designed furniture and low level screens create a series of spaces with varying atmosphere and privacy - the oversized Kitchen Table, the panelled library, sofas and phone booths. the space is further animated by the inclusion of a co-working space on G and LG opening directly to the atrium. This all creates opportunity for chance encounters, informal meetings, alternative study ‘outside of the office’ or is all cleared away for larger organised events. 

The building's facades are designed around a subversion of the typical glazed atrium typology. The planes of the elevations are distorted into a pixelated relief with projecting edges faced in un-treated mild steel. The glazed elements are off-set by areas of charred timber and mild steel panels add a weathered character that contrasts with the equability of sheet glass. The idea is accentuated by the addition of cantilevered meeting pods projecting into the atrium’s void.

The route from Finsbury Square to the Atrium passes through an incongruous archway that was added as part of a previous modification in the 1980s. This space has now been opened up to create a full double height route from Finsbury Square into the atrium. Clad entirely in iridescent purple steel and bisected by a mirror clad bridge, the result is an engulfing and distorting space, marking a clear break from the historic facade and setting up an open embrace of the interior.