While some offices and studios are simply somewhere people have to schlep to a few times a week, others have a real sense of place and purpose. For design practice Hato, its studio in London’s Golden Lane Estate – a stone’s throw from the similarly Brutalist Barbican complex – has become more than just its address since moving into the space around two years ago.

“It was a really exciting proposition for us. We’re of course a huge fan of the estate, the community it represents, and it allowed us to redefine how we work coming out of the pandemic,” explains Hato creative director and co-founder Ken Kirton, who says their concept store approach meant they could contain a storefront, a printing press and a working studio all in one space.

The space around it is just as important to the studio, having become intertwined with the surrounding estates on both a business and cultural level. Many of the studio’s friends and collaborators live there, and as a member of that community, Hato has become involved in the Barbican and Golden Lane Neighbourhood Forum (BGNLF), which was set up to bring together local residents, community reps and businesses of both estates to shape the future of the area.

“As Hato Press we represent a voice of a SME business that is local and community driven,” Kirton says. “The forum is made up of critical thinkers and doers who have a really important perspective on city developments with culture and community at its heart.”

Neighbourhood forums aren’t typically known for their design prowess, but given the forum’s handy links to Hato, it now boasts an engaging new identity and website that are both contextually relevant and enjoyable to interact with.

“We took a lot of cues from the architecture, colour palette, textures and forms from the building designs,” explains Kirton. “As an estate it’s very rich in this aspect, it’s hard to believe some of the commitment the original buildings took. There’s a lot of imagination, sense of play and dedication to the finish that is really admirable as an outsider.” This is most apparent in the lettering, which is rooted in the local Brutalist architectural details, so expect robust yet unconventional proportions.

Not just an homage, these references to the surroundings aim to amplify the forum’s voice, bringing it in step with the area’s architectural renown. “We wanted to ensure the community had a representative voice within the City of London. It’s a borough known for not really recognising residents and the BGNLF community is really diverse with some people living as original tenants through to some freshly moved in, but fundamentally we wanted to make sure there was a strong visual mark that could be applied throughout the estate that felt as if it was coming from the walls, floors and ceilings of the buildings.”

hato.co