On the mezzanine level, Holloway Li’s T4 lounge chairs and corner sofas in pink and orange are paired with repurposed coffee tables painted a vibrant red to create an unconventional work setting. Designed for their furniture partner UMA, the retro-futuristic design of the T4 seating collection channels the brash optimism of Cool Britannia and 90s television iconography, from Big Brother’s Diary Room aesthetic to the golden era of the chat show sofa, imbuing the lounge with a vibrant, fun atmosphere. The ‘Wall of Mothers’, one of the agency’s signature features which showcases the gilded-framed portraits of every employee’s mother, further enhance the sense of quirky playfulness.

Another Mother hallmark are the red kitchen tables, characteristic feature across the agency’s offices in London, New York, Los Angeles, Shanghai and Berlin – having been founded around a kitchen table, they are a symbol of the agency’s camaraderie and creativity. Manufactured by UMA, the bespoke tables and matching benches that Holloway Li designed for the project feature a structural foam core encased in a light, thin resin wrap, an innovative ‘surfboard’ technology employed in response to a demanding brief: the pieces had to be “light enough for two people to carry, and strong enough to act as a platform for Christmas party dancing”.

In the adjoining kitchen area, the architects have inserted two streamlined, stainless-steel kitchen islands to create a focal point that efficiently directs foot traffic. Forest-green cabinets complement the stainless-steel surfaces as do red shelves that showcase Mother’s extensive vintage tableware collection. By infusing narratives into every detail, even into the kitchen shelves, Holloway Li’s redesign succeeds in injecting a fresh, cool perspective in line with Mother’s creative ethos without however sacrificing the space’s inherent character.