![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_hero-1-852x479.jpg)
Sella Concept creates "grown-up" interiors inside London co-working space Public Hall
London design studio Sella Concept used plush furnishings, grandiose light fixtures and a "sophisticated" colour palette to ditch the stereotypical aesthetic of startups inside this central London co-working space.
Public Hall is set within a 19th-century building in London's Westminster, which formerly served as the headquarters of the UK secret intelligence service, MI6, and later as an apartment block.
![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_2364_col_5-852x569.jpg)
It now hosts a 250-member co-working space, headed up by workspace provider Huckletree, that caters to public-sector technology startups.
Huckletree tasked Sella Concept with developing interiors that encourage "disruptive modern thinking" without taking away from the building's historic character.
![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_2364_col_6-852x1277.jpg)
"Startups are all too often associated with a very particular aesthetic – pop-y colours and bean bags – and we wanted to create something that felt a bit more grown-up," the studio's founders, Tatjana von Stein and Gayle Noonan, told Dezeen.
"The main objective was to retain the grandeur of the space while injecting the Huckletree brand's playful nature, a piece of the past and a step into the future."
![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_2364_col_3-852x1277.jpg)
The building's ornate plaster ceilings and wooden floors have thus been preserved in Public Hall's bar and breakout area, which is anchored by a curved, teal-blue seating banquette.
It can be easily moved around to suit the different events held in the room.
The adjacent kitchen features jade-coloured cabinetry and a matching breakfast island topped with emerald marble. Cane bistro chairs and tall potted plants have also been dotted throughout.
![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_2364_col_11-852x569.jpg)
Ornate ceilings appear again in the main work area, which is centred by a gold chandelier.
The studio collaborated with office furniture brand Opendesk to create two long tables for the room in a custom shade of muted-green.
Shutters in front of the windows have also been painted salmon-pink.
![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_2364_col_19-852x569.jpg)
"We were confined to using the Dulux Heritage paint range, but after a period of experimentation settled on a sophisticated mix of the blues and greens," the pair added.
"As the building is Grade II heritage-listed we couldn't alter the structure, so paint colours and line accents were a really crucial way for us to add a contemporary layer."
![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_2364_col_15-852x569.jpg)
Downstairs in the basement – the only major structural addition that's been made to the building since its construction in 1884 – the studio has applied a similar colour palette to visually link rooms to those on the upper levels.
Walls in the library have been covered in teal-coloured wallpaper, nodding to the furnishings in the bar.
![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_2364_col_12-852x569.jpg)
Books and ornaments are presented on full-height vaulted shelves, which emulate the form of the arched windows in the workroom.
A handful of decor details like vases, Roman-style busts and the legs of meeting room tables have been painted with black and white stripes in reference to Huckletree's monochromatic brand logo.
![Public Hall by Sella Concept](https://static.dezeen.com/uploads/2019/09/public-hall-sella-concept-co-working-offices-interiors-london_dezeen_2364_col_14-852x569.jpg)
Established in 2016, Sella Concept has previously designed a Mediterranean-inspired restaurant in London's Pimlico and created a drinks bar beneath a railway arch in Hackney.
Public Hall isn't the first co-working space that the studio has worked on – back in 2017 it completed the interiors of shared office De Beauvoir Block, which occupies an Edwardian-era warehouse in east London.
Work areas featured soft-pink walls and industrial-style metal seating.
Photography is by Genevieve Lutkin.
Project credits:
Design: Sella Concept
Contractor: ThirdWay