Sarah Wigglesworth Architects has renovated an early-20th century industrial building to create studios for a charity that supports artists struggling to find affordable workspaces in London (+ slideshow).

Sarah Wigglesworth Architects overhauled the dilapidated structure for arts charity SPACE, which operates 18 artist studio buildings providing workspaces for 700 artists across London.

Situated in east London's Hackney neighbourhood, Deborah House was converted into studios in the 1980s before being purchased by SPACE in 2010.
It had gradually descended into a dilapidated condition, prompting the need for a thorough renovation.

The project is the latest in a series of collaborations between the charity and Sarah Wigglesworth Architects, whose previous projects also a school in northern England and a London bike storage facility with a gem-like skin.
A key objective of the project was to maintain the creative vibrancy of an area in which workspaces are frequently being converted into residences.

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With a brief to improve the building's external appearance and internal conditions whilst sticking to a tight budget, the renovations were accomplished at a cost of just £363 per square metre.

"This light-touch refurbishment of a former industrial building provides 2,305 square metres of affordable workshop space to artists," explained the studio, "and is prese...