This complex 40,000sq/ft project involves the Cat A and Cat B refurbishment and re-visioning of a major insurance provider’s Redhill headquarters building. The brief of our principle Client HSBC Pension Fund called for the modernisation and refurbishment of the existing base build – consisting of new windows, new courtyard treatment, base build and common parts.

Practised Design
The Cat B component involved working closely with the client in pursuit of a workplace that thoroughly addressed changing working practices with a view to wholeheartedly embracing agile working opportunities.

100% Work
Our evidence-based approach to workplace design substantially benefitted from extensive collaborations with workplace analysts HATCH, where it was found that a maximum of 60% of workplace accommodation was used at any one time. Allowing for a 10% contingency, the new accommodation schedule was able to benefit from the release of 30% of previously tied up (under used) space to enhance the working experience of staff members. New work settings supporting collaborative, breakout and concentrated work activities form a central part of the scheme design.

Our Brand before Building approach built on the client’s strong brand ideals and commitment to quality, innovation and high levels of trust – recognising the everyday heroes that make up operational teams. Critical design decisions were meticulously tested against the client brand to ensure that outcomes fully supported brand aspirations.

People First
The resulting scheme is seen as a series of articulated neighbourhoods where agile working practices are pursued within familiar surroundings. Common spaces, on the other hand, are conceived to optimise opportunities for interaction and cross-fertilisation of ideas – analogous to market squares or local parks – placing people at the centre of things, and encouraging much greater degrees of self-determination and independent working.