This year, PLP Architecture moved into our new headquarters in Derwent London’s White Chapel Building. Designed by our in-house team, the workspace was conceived with two ultimate aims: to mark the end of one chapter and embed the legacy of our journey up to this point, and to set a tone for our work ahead by embodying the principles that we champion today.

Fundamentally, the design was guided by circular design principles and demonstrates what becomes possible when we reframe our perspective and, instead of seeing waste, see the opportunities in the existing spaces and materials. The project succeeded in repurposing 92% of materials and saved over 175 tonnes of CO2. But within this larger story are smaller, more intimate moments of creativity; none more prominent than our terrazzo worktops.

A highlight of every studio tour, these surfaces have become a true embodiment of both of our principal goals. Developed with Solus Ceramics, these surfaces are made from old samples from our built projects, which instead of becoming waste were turned into a piece of our studio used on a daily basis. Installed in the kitchen and sample library, they showcase the opportunities of circularity not only as an environmental strategy, but as a design language.

The worktops incorporate stone, metal and ceramic fragments from projects such as 60 Curzon, 65 Davies Street and 4 Cannon Street. These samples had been stockpiled in our previous office, but rather than sending them to landfill in the move we sought a new way to preserve their value. Working with Solus and Quiligotti the samples were crushed and reformed into terrazzo, as part of Solus’ Spolia range of surfaces. At their Leeds facility, members of our team joined the casting process, arranging fragments by hand before the terrazzo was poured, cured and polished.

This collaborative process gave physical form to the idea that memory can be embedded in design. As Sam Frith, Creative Director at Solus, describes: “The terrazzo worktops created with PLP show how past projects can influence the present in a way that is both practical and symbolic. By embedding materials from previous buildings into a new functional element, we can create a story of continuity and sustainability that resonates with everyone who interacts with the space.”

For us, the terrazzo is more than a visual focal point. It articulates a different kind of authorship, one grounded in craft, legacy and stewardship. “They are beautiful, of course,” says Michael Polisano, Studio Designer at PLP. “But they also express our values. They make the act of reuse visible and tactile. They remind us that every material has more than one life, and every project leaves something behind that can be built upon.”

Read more about our circular office fitout here