Based by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby in 2001, Common Design Studio has lengthy been a benchmark for considerate, high-quality spatial design. Over time, its output has expanded from industrial interiors into exhibitions, cultural tasks and large-scale workspaces – all underpinned by a meticulous method to craft and storytelling.
As ‘Really feel the Sound’, an immersive exhibition designed by the studio, involves a detailed on the Barbican Centre (you may catch it till 31), we caught up with Common Design Studio Director Paul Gulati – who has been with the observe for 20 years – to mirror on the studio’s evolution, the function of sensory expertise in design and what would possibly come subsequent.
Stella McCartney’s retail areas had been the primary important tasks undertaken by Common Design Studio following its launch in 2001
(Picture credit score: Common Design Studio)
Wallpaper*: Are you able to inform us a bit about your background and the way you got here to hitch Common Design Studio?
Paul Gulati: I studied structure as a result of I wished to do one thing inventive – I used to be all the time obsessive about drawing and mark-making. On the similar time, I used to be releasing music on Aphex Twin’s label, Rephlex, within the Nineties, and I nonetheless have a sound studio. That exploration of sound has come full circle with our ‘Really feel the Sound’ exhibition.
I initially arrange my very own studio, however started freelancing with Common within the early 2000s – round 2004 or 2005. I used to be actually drawn to the tradition and craft of the studio. I’d seen the Stella McCartney undertaking and was so impressed by the extent of element. I simply wished to be a part of that. The fervour for doing work to the best commonplace was actually addictive – and that’s why I’m nonetheless right here.
Common Design Studio’s first foray into exhibition design was with ‘Chilly Warfare Trendy’ on the V&A, marking the beginning of the studio’s growth from retail to cultural tasks
(Picture credit score: Common Design Studio)
W*: How has the studio modified within the 20 years you’ve been there?
PG: It’s advanced loads. Again after I joined, we had been all based mostly in a single constructing in Shoreditch – Common, Map, and Barber Osgerby. It felt like a design campus. Now we’re extra unfold out, and that displays how the observe has grown. Edward and Jay all the time meant to construct one thing that would evolve with out being utterly reliant on them, and that spirit continues to be right here.
We began with small retail tasks – some luxurious, some shops – after which alternatives opened up in cultural work and hospitality. ‘Chilly Warfare Trendy’ on the V&A was a key second, and profitable the Science Museum’s ‘Data Age’ pitch got here from folks being intrigued by how we instructed tales by way of retail design. That concept of bringing narrative and materiality collectively has led us into all types of sectors – usually in ways in which had been partly deliberate, partly blissful accidents.
Gulati feedback that profitable the pitch for the Science Museum’s ‘Data Age’ exhibition ‘got here out of individuals being intrigued by how we instructed tales by way of retail design’
(Picture credit score: Images by Andrew Meredith)
W*: What’s your function now, and the way does the studio’s collaborative mannequin form the best way you’re employed?
PG: I’m considered one of three administrators on the Common facet, alongside Carly Sweeney and Jason Holley. Others have performed massive roles over time too. The title ‘Common’ actually displays how we work – it’s not a couple of single authored voice.
Aesthetics matter, in fact – they should resonate culturally and emotionally – however for us, they’re the results of deeper choices about perform, environment and intent.
Paul Gulati
We attempt to go away ego on the door. For me, it’s about staying creatively concerned, nurturing consumer relationships and serving to develop the enterprise. However none of us wish to be indifferent from the design course of. If an area works – not simply as a stupendous picture, however for the folks utilizing it – then we’ve accomplished our job. Which means being hands-on and giving the staff company. It’s a gifted and numerous group, and fairly a number of got here by way of academia – some had been even college students of ours.
There’s a form of cohort mentality: a variety of labor, however a shared philosophy and dedication to high quality that retains it feeling cohesive.
Experimental exhibition and cultural tasks usually feed again into the studio’s industrial work, such because the Jellicoe, a vacation spot workspace in King’s Cross, London
(Picture credit score: Images by Toby Mitchell)
W*: Is there a purple thread that runs by way of Common’s tasks?
PG: Storytelling is vital. Whether or not it’s a retail area, a office, or an exhibition you’re solely in for an hour, we’re all the time fascinated about easy methods to elevate the expertise by way of supplies, detailing and the senses.
We design from the within out – we don’t have separate structure and interiors departments. It’s one staff, with completely different backgrounds and views, coming collectively to create one thing holistic.
Sound is usually a secondary concern – or seen as an issue to unravel. However we wished to make use of it creatively.
Paul Gulati
Aesthetics matter, in fact – they should resonate culturally and emotionally – however for us, they’re the results of deeper choices about perform, environment and intent. We’re not chasing a signature type. It’s about crafting one thing significant for the folks utilizing it.
‘Really feel the Sound’ is an immersive exhibition on the Barbican Centre, designed by Common Design Studio, which explores how sound shapes our feelings, recollections, and sense of self
(Picture credit score: Common Design Studio)
W*: Inform us extra about ‘Really feel the Sound’ on the Barbican. How did that undertaking come about?
PG: We’d labored with the Barbican Immersive staff earlier than on ‘Our Time on Earth’, which explored materials stewardship and led us to analysis pure and neglected supplies – a few of which we ended up utilizing in industrial tasks like The Jellicoe.
‘Really feel the Sound’ was initially pitched as a music present for 2025 and has been produced by Barbican Immersive, co-produced by MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives, Tokyo, Japan. We wished to problem the concept spatial design is primarily visible. Sound is usually a secondary concern – or seen as an issue to unravel. However we wished to make use of it creatively.
‘Really feel the Sound’ challenges the concept spatial design is primarily visible
(Picture credit score: Common Design Studio)
As an alternative of isolating installations in separate rooms, we designed an open route with sound-insulated transitions that use white noise to create a form of auditory palette cleanse. It’s a spatial tactic that depends on sound, not simply sight. In case you don’t discover it – if the sound doesn’t conflict – it’s working.
These sorts of tasks are an opportunity to be extra experimental. We make investments the time to analysis and take a look at new approaches and supplies. The aim is to feed these learnings again into our industrial work. That round relationship is absolutely essential to us.
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