Last month, the Placework team officially relocated to a new studio in Portsmouth’s West End, trading the snug downtown home we’d occupied for twelve years for a space that better accommodates our vision.

Our new studio, housed in a portion of the historic Morley Button Factory, is an inspiration in itself. We chose this space because it carries the memory of the neighborhood’s industrial history while being reimagined for what comes next. Exposed brick and timber frames easily accommodate our contemporary interventions, a fitting metaphor for a practice that believes good design always listens before it speaks.

The space as we first encountered it last year.

Our first steps came almost three years ago, when we began to brainstorm on the types of workspaces we might use beyond our desks – spaces for focused work, digital interactions, and hands on collaboration. Our creative process included group sketching exercises, diagrams, and collaboratively defining spaces within a model. Throughout our general ethos of restraint prevailed – doing as much as we can with as little new material.

A Collaborative Design Hub

The move is also about more than improving how we’re able to work. We have long aspired to function beyond a traditional architecture office — a genuine design hub for the broader community. Our new space is purpose-built for that vision. Hosting public design workshops and lectures open to anyone curious about the built environment; inviting community members to engage with art and architecture in new ways; these are among the exciting possibilities. Here we can build on our broad network of existing partnerships with local schools and nonprofits, bringing design thinking into the community in a variety of creative ways.

We also had the opportunity to include design approaches that we recommend for our clients by using bio-based, healthy, and natural materials and reusing salvaged materials. We incorporated wood fiber insulation, plywood panels made of straw and grass, and a beautiful big window salvaged from an old building.  All the furnishings were repurposed from our old office or salvaged on their way to the landfill.

Creative collaborations with building owner Chinburg Properties, builder Chapman Construction, and lighting consultant Exposure made it all possible.

For clients, our new location offers a more collaborative experience, with dedicated spaces for different types of work, a better setting for design reviews, and a studio that reflects the quality of thought that goes into every project. For the neighborhood, it means a new kind of neighbor —one that sees its space not only as a workplace, but also as a place to convene, create, and contribute.

It’s been a team effort to get the space up and running, but Placework is now open at 909 Islington Street, Suite 6. Stop by if you’re in the neighborhood!