We have been watching the Metal Box Factory entrance being constructed throughout the last year, but most of the time not realising what it was going to be. Thrown up adjacent to the new Hixter restaurant, I had made the mistake of assuming it was all part of the same complex. I also didn’t realise it had opened until I saw office workers strolling in and out earlier this week, so I am a little paranoid about my lack of attention. We Architects are supposed to be aware of our surroundings!

The new construction brings a new, lively feel to the street frontage frontage. Rather than an expected entrance facade between the town adjacent buildings, a large concrete structure of two walls and a flat roof have been installed, creating a simple extruded frame to the garden entrance. From a distance this has the effect of drawing you in. It is a powerful image and will be far more noticeable from Southwark Street than another glass box and, if the CGI below is anything to go by, we are still awaiting the introduction of some text which will round off this perfect marketing tool of a building.

The elongated bubbles in the background are, I assume, ETFE panels. Similar to those used for the Eden project, these air-filled bubbles are lightweight should allow huge swathes of light into the space beyond, which appears to be the lobby area for the new Workspace client.

The Workspace concept is a simple but effective one that appears to be picking up across the city. My practice delivered the fit-out of one such lettable office-sharing environment which included a series of different office configurations, from small rooms large enough for a single desk, to rows of call-centre-esque benches with colleagues crammed shoulder-to-shoulder. Break out spaces supposedly promote discussion between young professionals and, therefore, improve a dialogue between start-up firms, providing an immediate support group. This entrepreneurial growth centre concept has been around for a while, so I’m surprised it hasn’t picked up sooner.

The metal fence at the front of the building is necessary but unfortunate, as it removes some of the power of this simple object which so convincingly draws you in, the planting needs some time to settle in, and the detailing to the top of the dark grey in-fills between the concrete box and the adjacent buildings leaves something to be desired. However, I think this is a great addition to the local streetscape; it’s punchy, it’s interesting, it’s a break from the norm without being offensive.