K-studio designed the first premises for Roots & Bulbs, a new company based in London that specializes in cold-pressed, raw fruit and vegetable juices. Located in the Marylebone area, this is the first stand-alone, cold-pressed juice bar in the UK’s capital.
The design solution had to be flexible as it will be reinterpreted and repeated in other locations, as the company grows and expands through the city. So after solving the layout in this specific space, k-studio entered the realm of product design and focused on a series of elements that could work within any space. The company uses natural, raw ingredients to make clean and healthy drinks in elegant packaging. The architects decided to take the same attitude and chose natural, raw materials to create clean spatial elements with an elegant finish. In this way the shop reinforces the ethos of the company and its product.
With a palette of natural materials they created 3 main elements that would give the shop and company a strong spatial identity. The first, inspired by the company name Roots & Bulbs, is the main service counter and display surface, a large block of rammed earth that is inlaid with copper trays used in various ways by the shop staff to store or display items. The second element is a custom built, sandblasted stainless steel display fridge designed in collaboration with the kitchen makers Xenex. The colorful bottles are hung on a sliding rail system, displaying them in clean, organized rows at the optimum temperature for retaining their nutritional value. The third element of the design is a series of copper ‘halos’ that run overhead, marking out space for various functions. Along these copper rails sit custom designed spotlights honed from solid copper, positioned to illuminate the key activities below.
The identity of the Roots & Bulbs brand is strengthened in the design of its first shop. The material selection, color use and organization of the space is guided by the philosophy of the brand and holistically implemented to provide a strong presence that is elegantly raw.
