Architecture for London, together with AFL Build, has completed a new shop for the stationers Present & Correct, situated within a heritage retail unit in Bloomsbury. The project included a new floor, bespoke joinery and storage throughout.
The brief called for a demountable interior, allowing the lifespan of the project to extend beyond the lease of the location. A muted palette of maple plywood and ash timber is paired with a tile floor, Vitsœ shelving and new LED lighting throughout.
In a nod to the neighbouring British Museum, cabinets are imagined as a series of “wunderkammer” that exhibit the stationery as objects of desire.
Present & Correct’s identity is translated through a grid inspired by the ISO 216 A chart, which influences the perception of nearly all the printed images in Europe. This grid traverses the surface of the shop cabinetry.
Present and Correct were established in 2009, previously located in Clerkenwell. They stock stationery from 18+ countries, including vintage items they discover on foraging expeditions.
They wish to spark a distant memory, make you smile or look at the most mundane in a new, and fonder, light.
Facts & Credits
Project title: Present & Correct shop
Project type: Retail architecture | Interior design
Project location: London, UK
Architecture, interiors: Architecture for London
Date of completion: 2023
Gross area: 48 m2
Main contractor: AFL Build
Text: Provided by the authors
Photography & video: Building Narratives
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