Milliners Yard, UK

Jasper Sanders + Partners was responsible for designing Milliner’s Yard’s premium ground-floor residents’ lounge, alongside all public and linking spaces, including the fitness suite, communal areas, and apartment circulation corridors. With the procurement and fit-out of the one-and two-bedroom apartments led by operator Allsop, Jasper Sanders + Partners focused on designing a cohesive and holistic experience through the building. The studio’s sensitive approach to key circulation routes has ensured a seamless and intuitive journey for residents.

The ground-floor amenity has been designed to elevate the residential living experience and offers a distinctive identity, tailored to a modern lifestyle in the heart of this iconic city. Milliners Yard is modest in scale at 3,220ft², yet the amenity area offers a high degree of activation and includes an entrance arrival and concierge area, quiet pod, coffee bar and a variety of settings catering to a broad range of functions from breakfast to evening cocktails. According to Studio Founder, Jasper Sanders, the design aimed to accommodate a variety of everyday activities such as ‘waiting, working, lounging and perching’, creating a versatile amenity that reflects the rhythm of modern urban life.

Lighting forms a fundamental layer of the design at Milliners Yard, orchestrated to respond to the rhythm of the day and the diverse functions of each space. In collaboration with UR-EKA Lighting & Controls, Jasper Sanders + Partners specified and curated a variety of fittings enabling the environment to shift seamlessly between moods, with CRI 90+ luminaires and a warm colour temperature enhancing material authenticity and creating atmospheres that feel tactile, considered, and welcoming. The lighting is discreetly integrated, allowing the architecture and interiors to take precedence: Arkos Light pin spots within the SAS grid ceiling articulate key surfaces, while linear fixtures concealed within plasterboard and trough-detailed bulkheads wash tiled surfaces and curtains, cultivating a subtle, layered ambience that supports both relaxation and social interaction. These interventions also establish a quiet dialogue with the external courtyard, framing the interior without imposing upon it.

The lighting scheme’s narrative is anchored by the bespoke tubular installation above the central joinery unit. Its sinuous, weaving forms generate spatial intrigue while referencing the thread and textile heritage of the Fabric District, embedding local context within the interior experience. Complementing this, the HAY Nelson Ball pendant floats above the arrival lounge, creating a zone of comfort and orientation, while the gridded linear fittings of the vestibule abstract the warp and weft of fabric, delivering an immediate sense of craft and presence on arrival.

Attention to detail extends to graphics, wayfinding, and bespoke joinery, all subtly enhanced by integrated LED lighting that grazes surfaces and animates materials. This nuanced illumination heightens tactility, enriching textures and finishes, and reinforces a sense of place and quality throughout the scheme. Collectively, the considered use of light at Milliners Yard elevates the interior, rendering materiality, spatiality, and atmosphere in their most honest and refined form.