SIRS

Design-led boutique studio founded by Manuel Irsara and Sebastian Soukup. London-based, global outlook.

SIRS is an award winning architectural studio based in London & Vienna founded in 2010 by Manuel Irsara and Sebastian Soukup, working on a wide range and scale of projects from product and interior design to the residential, hospitality, healthcare and cultural field. The practice’s work is highly bespoke, design oriented and has been published internationally.

29/11/2023

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.

We’re humbled that our project has been selected as Regional Finalist from over 300 schemes in the Civic Trust Awards 2024. The awards aim to recognise outstanding architecture in the built environment, encouraging exceptional design, sustainability, inclusiveness and accessibility as well as projects providing a civic contribution by offering a positive cultural, social, economic or environmental benefit to their local communities.

As the longest standing built environment awards scheme in Europe - established in 1959 - is one of the only remaining independent built environment awards schemes and operates on a not-for-profit basis.

Regional Finalists will now be considered by the national judging panel before national winners will be announced in January 2024. Congratulations and good luck to all fellow finalists!

Photographs 1,3 2 4

17/11/2023

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.

We’re delighted to announce that our project has been named one of the six finalists for the prestigious AJ Architecture Awards 2023 in the cultural project category! These awards shine a spotlight on the finest architectural creations in the UK, spanning diverse categories such as housing, health & wellbeing, workplace, and cultural projects. It’s a true honour to receive recognition for our client’s unwavering dedication, our exceptional team’s hard work, and our project partners’ commitment to design excellence.

The winners will be unveiled at the AJ Awards ceremony in London on November 22nd. Be sure to explore the exceptional work of our fellow finalists (link in bio) while you await the exciting event!

Photographs by ©NicSerp

09/11/2023

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.

We're thrilled to have been a part of this year's London Open House Festival and grateful for the overwhelming interest in our project . With nearly 700 booked visitors and countless drop-ins, it's been an unforgettable experience.

The London Open House Festival celebrates architecture and the urban landscape, striving to make London a more accessible, equitable and open city. Since its inception in 1992 in London and organized by , the festival has expanded to over 60 cities worldwide, during which many architectural gems open their doors for free public tours.

Thank you to everyone who attended and made this year's festival a success! We can't wait to see you again next year. Link in bio

03/11/2023

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.

We're thrilled that the has been shortlisted for the 2023 Brick Awards in both the “Public” and also the “Refurbishment” categories. The annual awards hosted by the .development.association celebrate exemplary clay brick architecture and craftsmanship in 18 hotly-contested categories. Our scheme was designed with the objective to reduce demolition to a minimum in favour of converting and retrofitting the existing building fabric. Existing site materials were re-installed where possible whilst re-cycled or local natural building components such as London clay brickwork were selected when additional materials were required to complement the 19th century building fabric. Take a look at the shortlisted projects (link in bio) ahead of winners being announced at the award ceremony in London on 8th November. Fingers crossed and chapeau to all other shortlisted teams!

Photograph 1 by SIRS, 2-4 by ©NicSerp

27/10/2023

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.

We are excited that our project has been longlisted for the Awards 2023 in the “Cultural Building of the Year” category, celebrating the very best architecture projects and building products selected from over 1,000 entries across the globe. The 14 longlisted projects range from refurbishments and conversions to new constructions, spanning 12 countries including Mexico, Taiwan, UAE and are currently being reviewed by jurors ahead of project nominations being announced soon.

The Centre welcomed over 20,000 visitors during its first three opening months, exceeding everyone’s expectations. Well done all who have been part of this project's journey since 2015 and congratulations to all other longlisted schemes (link in bio)!

Photographs 1,3,4 by ©NicSerp, 2 by SIRS

15/09/2021

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.

We’re turning things on their head once more! Traditionally, in construction projects we celebrate the workforce when the highest point of the building project is reached. In our case we’re raising a toast to the bottoming out of the basement box instead. Our team has done a great job completing a 5m deep basement level - half the volume of an Olympic swimming pool - in a very constrained site with 13 piles, 56 underpins and the largest party-wall award in the UK of 2020. So here’s to them and their tenacity!

Photographs 01/04 by Tom Oldham , 02/03 by SIRS

08/08/2021

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.

Gilbert & George designs often take the most unusual shapes! Here’s a sneak preview of the entrance gates currently being hand forged by our award-winning blacksmith, David Tucker. And there’s more to them than meets the eye: although crafted in traditional wrought iron, they conceal features such as internal cable runs and an electromagnetic door lock; to allow either pedestrian or vehicular access the gates are discreetly split into two leaves. We can’t wait to press the buzzer for the first time!

Meanwhile check out G&G’s latest THIRTEEN EARTHLY PICTURES at Xippas from 8th august 2021 and their ongoing shows at and

Photographs 2,3 by , others by SIRS

05/03/2021

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.

Want to peek under the hood of the future Gilbert & George Centre? To create sufficient space for the building’s transformation, a large basement is currently being constructed under the existing built footprint, hosting exhibition, storage, back of house and service spaces. We can hardly believe it ourselves, but the brewery is actually temporarily suspended in the air by a steel structure until late spring, once the basement’s been completed. And wait, there are more logistical challenges: the basement itself is being built according to a complex top down methodology, with micro-piles striking the perimeter of no less than 37 (yes, thirty-seven!) different neighbouring parties.
Photograph 1 by Tom Oldham - all others by SIRS

04/03/2021

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London.
What we like most about the idea of a Gilbert & George Centre is the fact that the artists who in the 60s couldn’t find one single gallery to represent them, are now creating an exhibition space of their own. The Centre will provide three state-of-the-art exhibition areas of different scales, featuring two annual shows and providing a more permanent home for their art, which has been touring the world. More than fifty years on, the iconic duo are now coming full circle in their home borough, which they once referred to as “Nothing happens in the world that doesn’t happen in the East End.”

02/03/2021

The Gilbert & George Centre, Spitalfields, London

The wait is over! After five years of planning, we kicked off the construction of the new Gilbert & George Centre and are, for the first time, revealing the design. London’s East End, the land of outcasts, misfits and seers has always been the duo’s spiritual – and physical – home. It’s been both the subject and container of their full artistic expression, fuelling their irreverent, raw and confrontational style. We’re excited to be converting a former brewery into Gilbert & George’s new art foundation, breathing new life into the historic fabric of the area. Expect to step inside early 2022 – and in the meantime join us as we share the adventure of this ground-breaking project taking shape. Ps: In the first photo you can take a peek at what Gilbert & George like to call “the secret garden”; more secret delights coming up! ;-) And for a double dose of G&G, also check out their new show at , which opened today (virtually).

21/02/2021

Gilbert & George Studio, London. 3/3

We’ve been keeping this under wraps for a while, but the ground-breaking project we’ve been working on with the “living sculpture” artists over the last five years is now coming to fruition. Stay tuned for more details!

Meanwhile check out G&G’s most recent at from 2nd March 2021.
Photograph by Miles Aldridge

17/02/2021

Gilbert & George Studio, London. 2/3

The artists at work in their studio, with Brazilian-born British-based choreographer Jean Abreu ahead of his solo show 'Blood'. Such a fine example of artistic synergies: Abreu’s show was inspired by Gilbert & George’s art; and that was the first time their work was used in dance choreography

Photograph by Paul Scala

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291 Mitcham Road