London, UK

Cornerstone Hackney

Cornerstone is the solo venture from the celebrated chef Tom Brown. The restaurant has been designed to connect to the chef and his Cornish heritage with the industrial history of London’s east end.

The central focus of the restaurant is the kitchen which is conceived as the stage, with the tables arranged as a theatre-in-the-round. The cooking process is experienced as a performance, with every diner enjoying a view of Tom and his team preparing their food. Designed as a singular, sculptural object, the form of the kitchen is driven by its functional requirements and every detail has been carefully considered to serve the day-to-day operations of a busy restaurant.

The restaurant is embellished by a series of found objects that represent Tom’s background, alongside a number of design collaborations. This layering of stories and objects was driven by Tom’s desire to make a truly personal and distinctive space.

A feature table, built by Jack Badger, was commissioned by Tom to encourage communal dining and will take a prominent position in the main space; made from 5,000-year-old bog oak salvaged from the bottom of a river in Croatia.

Related Projects

Working with developer Hubcap, Holland Harvey is charged with converting an existing under-utilised office building within the City of London into The Ludgate, a new aparthotel concept. 

Templeton Place is a terrace of seven Victorian townhouses in Earl’s Court, west London, converted into a hotel in the 1970s. The project seeks to undertake the complete refurbishment of the existing 160 bedroom hotel.   

Holland Harvey developed a considered material palette and design language for Paris Baguette’s High Street Kensington store that built upon the existing brand to create a new identity for their UK roll-out.

Holland Harvey and Tate Modern have linked two of London’s most iconic spaces, the Southbank and the Turbine Hall, via a refurbished cafe, Corner.