Yugo St Crispin’s House

Built in the 1970s, St Crispin’s House housed Her Majesty’s Stationery Office in its former life, and was characterised by an unexpected mixture of raw concrete alongside luxurious marble and serpentine finishes.

On our first site visit we found an irrigation system which had been left running in the empty building for several years had quietly created an incongruously lush hidden jungle.

Taking this as our cue, our interior design draws upon Norwich’s brutalist architecture and the quiet luxury of tropical modernism, played off against wilder elements of the vegetation brought into the interior.

This fusion of legacy and serendipity has given the building a distinct and authentic identity that resonates with its residents – mostly students of the nearby art school. Their choice of subject influenced the building’s amenity offer. Communal spaces are geared towards creative pursuits rather than conventional study, including a podcasting lounge and a mirrored ‘get ready’ space with music and drinks facilities.

The building contains study, social, creative and gallery spaces for 630 students.