The Fox
SHOREDITCH LONDON
THE BRIEF
The Fox is a historic East London public house in Shoreditch which changed owners in 2018. Despite being located at the corner or arterial roads running between Shoreditch and Old Street’s ‘Silicon Roundabout’ the business had become dilapidated and was in need of a full refurbishment. The new owners acknowledged this and tasked RYE Design with the full refurbishment of the ground floor bar, first floor dining room, and external terrace. Our brief for the project was to create a new identity for the business that enhanced it’s existing architectural features. This new identity was to be expressed through the new interior design, external signage, and print collateral for the pub. Operationally the general arrangement of the bar needed to be completely reconfigured in order to yield better use of space and accommodate a variety of customer seating zones.
THE SCHEME
We produced a new layout for the ground floor which saw the bar repositioned on the back wall of the ground floor. This opened up the ground floor making it more inviting to passing trade and increased the seating capacity. The Georgian building had some fantastic original features including it’s handmade ceramic tiled exterior from which we drew inspiration. From this existing materials pallette we designed a new handmade ceramic ‘fox-head’ tile for the bar font cladding creating a motif for the pub’s new brand identity. We enlisted the help of traditional British ceramic tile manufacturer H&E Smith to manufacture the tile and assist in the creation of their bespoke burnt orange glaze. This informed the rest of the design for the interior which paired the tiles with dark stained oak joinery, brass metal work, and a mottled paint effect ceiling. Working with Atelier Lighting we designed and commissioned a number of bespoke lighting elements including the 13 globe chandeliers.
