Seven Dials Market
Seven Dials Market
Street food collective KERB have opened their highly anticipated food court, and first indoor location, in the West End. The market occupies a 24,000 square foot former Banana warehouse and is home to 21 separate food vendors. A combination of new restaurants and established producers, the market offers plenty of choice across two floors and is open seven days a week.
London based architects Stiff + Trevillion took cues from the various former uses of the site in their design process. From a banana and cucumber warehouse, to more recently a clothing and jewellery market, the space has seen many uses since its original 19th Century construction.
A large light well over the centre of the space illuminates the canteen area below on the ground floor, and original features have been retained and restored to keep a sense of the building’s rich history at the forefront of the new scheme.
Cast iron beams and original brick arches are contrasted with pink Italian terrazzo counters and orange stools. A bright pink lift links the two floors acting as flash of colour that confidently interrupts the heritage space. Each individual restaurant space sits below a consistent ‘shop frontage’, to ensure visual continuity and to create a sense of connection between the stores.
Fresh and playful graphic application by The Plant again lifts the space away from being an exercise in just restoration. Bold and vibrant colours in the loose hand drawn illustrations of the branding soften and compliment the strong typography of the Seven Dials Market logo. The brand is brought to life in the space with a huge banana sculpture which makes for a great Instagram opportunity.
This space perfectly embodies the trend of merging hospitality and retail to create multi-functional, multi-sector spaces. The offering here stretches to live music and a book shop, catering for those looking for an overall experience rather than just great food and plenty of choice. The flexible environment actively encourages social interaction in its spatial layout, a trend that we expect to see grow and grow as customers seek out more all-encompassing experiences.
