Sweetdram Modular Creative Workshop Designed by SODA.

Young architecture practice SODA has completed a creative workshop for Sweetdram, a new distillery collective. Set in a former printworks in Dalston, Sweetdram’s first ‘permanent’ home is designed to be ultra flexible – everything within the studio can be easily dismantled, moved and adapted to the needs of the business.

SODA’s approach has been to use a limited palette of modern materials as a ‘kit of parts’, designing the practical, minimal interiors, which reinforce the client’s contemporary take on liqueurs for modern tastes. Cork is used for worktops and a bespoke storage wall that doubles as a partition within the space, separating the main workshop area from the office.

The project brings together the endeavours of several young entrepreneurial studios. In addition to SODA and Sweetdram, Walthamstow-based cabinet maker, David Vivian, has helped create additional bespoke elements for the interior. SODA have also referenced graphic motifs taken from Sweetdram’s new brand identity, developed in conjunction with Spring Studios Creative’s director, Andreas Neophytou, which also informed the industrial bottle design by Felix de Pass for Sweetdram’s first release, Escubac.

Co-founder of Sweetdram, Andrew MacLeod Smith shares: “The approach SODA took made us feel like we were in constant collaboration, which enabled them to get underneath the brand’s skin. As a result, they have managed to create a workshop that not only balances function and aesthetic but also acts as an extension of Sweetdram and a showcase for what we do. More than being just a nice place to work, the space becomes a highly unique, dynamic marketing tool, and for a small brand in a competitive industry, that’s invaluable.”

[Images courtesy of SODA. Photography by Ruth Ward.]