The overall planned layout allows for 880 staff at a density of 68 square feet per person (6.4 square metres per person). Office fit out costs per head worked out at £4000 per person, or £640 per sq metre.
A number of innovative office design solutions were incorporated including a flexible training desk that converts rapidly from hardware to soft-skills training. On floor breakout areas are supported by a large cafe area that is designed to be a hub for the office bringing teams together who are located on different floors.
Personal lockers spaces are provided, featuring a novel perspex door offering the ability to add some personality, and to easily update the colour scheme. Several locations on the open plan floors are designated for display of mobile devices…a plug and play resource for staff.
The office refurbishment took 9 months from start, with a floor used as turn-round space to decant staff. As an example of modern office interiors this refurbishment mixes bold use of colour, innovative concepts and a fresh contemporary look and feel.
The upgraded HVAC system was one of the features of the project that is a behind-the-scenes upgrade. To accommodate almost 900 staff the air risers couldn’t provide any additional fresh air. A solution was devised to take one floor off the main plant and install a localised Mitsubishi Lossnay system. This takes in fresh air using the upper portion of external windows. This was already partially hidden by the suspended ceiling so no loss of natural light was evident.
