Universal Design Studio has completed Elder Yard in partnership with British Land – a contemporary workspace shaped by sustainability, craft and material integrity.

Foregrounding a low-impact approach, the team challenged themselves to achieve the smallest possible footprint, carefully balancing local commissions with vintage pieces to create interiors layered with texture, depth and experience.

Sustainability informed every stage of the design, the team worked delicately with the existing building, and carefully layering new elements within the architecture rather than reworking it. Precisely crafted joinery sits at the heart of the interiors, introducing warmth and tactility while reflecting a commitment to material-led design and skilled making. The result creates a workspace defined by depth, texture and longevity, designed to support focus, collaboration and everyday wellbeing.

Craft plays a central role in shaping the workspace experience. MESEME Studio, an independent, women-led sculptural North East London–based lighting practice was commissioned to create 80 paper pendants, bringing softness and rhythm to the working environment.

Additional lighting was supplied by London practice Joe Armitage, reinforcing a consistent, human-scaled approach to illumination.

With a focus on British artists and makers, Universal carefully curated moments around a botanical theme – inspired by the surrounding street names – further rooting the interiors in their local context. Works by India Hobson appear throughout the building, creating a visual thread that connects spaces from the ground floor upwards.

Furniture was developed in collaboration with Fallen & Feld, who produced bespoke tables crafted from London Plane, a material intrinsically linked to the city’s public realm. These pieces support both individual and collaborative work, grounding the spaces through material weight and presence.