In 2005 David Adjaye transformed a crumbling London library into the shiny Whitechapel Idea Store. Now the acclaimed British architect hopes to revive the fortunes of the independent record shop with his design for the new Rough Trade outlet in east London. These are dark days for music retail - Tower Records has gone, and Fopp closed this month - but the revered London specialist is defying the elements and going big.
Rough Trade East, which opened on Dray Walk off Brick Lane last week, is one of the largest independent record shops in the country. And it is no ordinary record shop. A coffee bar greets you at the entrance. A cushioned bench winds along the opposite wall, beneath spoked fluorescent lighting. Record crates in the middle of the room can be wheeled away for in-store performances. There's a 'snug' with tables and sofas for workshops, quizzes and general lounging. Listening posts abound, and the sound system could blow some of the local clubs away.
Rough Trade director Stephen Godfroy has high hopes for the venture. 'When I see other places close, it gives me confidence because I know why they're closing. Nobody else is doing what we're doing here.' He believes that high-street retailers are in decline but predicts 'the rise of the side-street', driven by a demand for passionate, knowledgeable service and a space where music-lovers can congregate. He's also heartened by recent reports of a vinyl resurgence: records make up more than 25 per cent of Rough Trade's stock.
But it's the shop's beautifully integrated design that should prove its greatest asset. Adjaye, a long-term customer who offered his services to Rough Trade a decade ago, fell in love with the Old Truman Brewery building and took inspiration, Godfroy says, from old gin palaces, 'with a saloon bar, a public bar and lots of different people under the one roof'. If such a place cannot thrive here, at the intersection of City money and East End culture, then the future of independent record shops is dark indeed.