Warner Bros. Discovery
Where editorial energy and corporate gravity share the same floor.
Where editorial energy and corporate gravity share the same floor.
- Client
- Warner Bros. Discovery
- Location
- London
- Sector
- Workplace
- Year
- 2023
- Status
- Completed
The project transformed the reception and canteen on the ground floor and the working spaces on the first. Despite the physical separation between levels, the design integrates both through a metaphorical digital reel, running vertically and horizontally through the building to create a coherent whole. The reel generates distinct zones that reflect WBD's culture of collective identity. A spiral staircase connects the ground-floor cafe to the working floor above, reinforcing that continuity in section.
One of the first projects i/o atelier presented, in the early weeks of the practice. The submission was conventional: strong design, no distinctive methodology, the same format as every competing practice. The project was not won. The studio maintained the client relationship and returned a year later to present what had been built in the interim. The idea registered, but the tooling was not yet at deployment readiness, and the integration of design and AI capability was not yet sharp enough to carry the room. What the project established: when a client's interest is genuine but the tools are not yet ready, the answer is not to withdraw but to continue building. i/o spark exists because the practice treated this loss as a design brief.
Waterfront Hotel→
A building that behaves like the coastline it sits on.