YouTube HQ

Deliberately low-cost build

Location
London, UK
Services
Interior Design, Workplace
Sector
Video Sharing Company
Area
25,000 SQ. FT.
replica set of del boy's living room from Only Fools and Horses

For one of the world’s most successful entertainment-based websites, it felt only right to base their HQ design around that element of entertaining. Cue a back of stage atmosphere, a central stage set and Del Boy’s living room.

youtube 'back of stage' rows of red & white seating with black walls, exposed services and yellow submarine doors
iconTalk Spaces
a pod-like room with silver walls, a silver curved sofa and cushions with a black door with a metal wheel as its handle
iconFlight Pods

'With Del’s famous cocktail bar, complete with shaker, glass and umbrella, it is great fun to work at YouTube London. Del’s twin porcelain dogs, 60’s bamboo-shoot wallpaper mixed with Granddad’s awful choice in curtains and carpet, chintz drinks trolley and life ring, creates just the right level of really loveable-rogue taste.'

Interior Designer Magazine
back of stage exposed stud work chipboard walls and black cushioned walls with people sat in nooks working & also a corridor with people walking through
iconback of stage
close up of del's replica drinks bar featuring shaker, glass and umbrella
iconDel's Cocktail Bar

Another element of the Google programme was a separate yet connected HQ for YouTube. So, we immediately got heavily inspired by Britain’s most watched UK comedy TV show… Only Fools and Horses. We created a central stage set that was a carbon copy of Del Boy’s living room from Mandela House in Peckham.

Around this workplace interior design, we created shrewd, multi-functioning workspaces – exposed studwork and framing was deliberately made to have a poor-quality feel, adding the fun factor but also kept costs down – cushty!

Eco-Giants

Compliant with Google’s Red List, & only a few points short of LEED Platinum