Global Insurance Provider

Delivering an open and unrestricted workplace environment

This project challenged us to deliver a progressive, healthy and productive workplace whilst answering a brief that was largely formed around existing corporate guidelines. With almost half of the building’s occupants in individual offices, our goal was to improve the user experience and wellness potential for all staff – creating an environment that felt ‘open’ and unrestricted.

Getting maximum natural light penetration into the open plan environments was crucial element in obtaining this open feeling. Maintaining sight lines and ensuring that there is always a view to the external from practically every point in the floor plate was also key. To achieve this we worked very closely within the buildings architectural grid.

Defining spaces acoustically to create optimal work settings

By working with the interior architecture to define local and acoustically superior collaborative spaces, we were able to define the space in three concentric rings that wound their way out from the central, light filled atrium. This created a subtle but meaningful distinction between collaborative space, cellular offices and open plan, allowing employees to access collaborative spaces convenient to their workstations while managing acoustic problems that can often arise in open plan environments.

Self-sufficient neighbourhoods each with their own tea-points, meeting rooms, and breakout spaces further nurture the workplace culture and encourage staff to socialise and build relationships amongst their teams.

Catering for all staff needs in-house

All staff welfare requirements are fully catered for with a large open plan restaurant space with full commercial style kitchen capable of catering for 200 lunch covers. This break-out area spills out onto a landscaped outdoor seating area which enables staff to take a break from their work in a natural setting.

The client historically has maintained a traditional style of workplace, but for this project we wanted to highlight their industrial heritage and chose to work with a palette of industrial materials used in a refined way. Specific attention was paid to the texture of the materials, like the coloured mesh wrapping of insulation materials. Other features include the considered detailing of joinery, for example the hot rolled raw steel to the tea-point front and exposed sprinkler pinwork in reception and break out areas that have been sprayed in feature colours in keeping with the rest of the space creating a thoughtful and fun nod to the company heritage.