The whole picture

26 February, 2010

The recession has created a strong demand from corporate occupiers and landlords to find ways of reinventing their buildings and workplace environments to make them inspiring places to work. I prefer the term ‘reinvent’ to ‘refurbish’ because the term refurbish only implies a physical change; more often than not, changes these days are more holistic than physical. Reinvention is taking place for both occupiers and landlords.

Let’s look at the corporate occupier first. During a recession occupiers consider reinventing their workplace as a viable alternative to relocating, even if they have a lease break. Cost savings, avoiding disruption, being risk averse, or knowing it will be easier to get board approval, are common reasons for reinventing existing workplaces rather than moving.

But there may be other reasons as well. Often a reinvention of a workplace includes a rethink of working practices, HR policies, team management structures, branding, property strategy, environmental strategy, facilities management, and technologies that support work whether it takes place in or out of the office. Why? Because the workforce, the type of work they do and the way they do it, are changing. The workforce is becoming nomadic, tech-savvy and greener.

Organisations are seeking ways to change the physical attributes of their environment and how they manage themselves to respond to the needs of this evolving workforce. The old rules of management and the old ways of running an office do not apply to today’s dynamic workforce model.

That’s not to say every organisation has hundreds of people touching down and hot-desking in funky studios, Twittering away while listening to iPods, passing through airports, having meetings in Starbucks and viewing podcasts on their iPads. Most organisations have a modest number of staff who go to the office every day, where they have their own desk, supported by a reception, meeting rooms, storage, a kitchen and so on. But even in these traditional workplaces, reinvention is taking place.

Green & Black’s
The last 15 years have seen two popular reinvention movements. The first is an increase in the amount of collaborative space and reduction in individually owned space. This might be done by reducing the size of desks, eliminating cellular offices or desk sharing. It does not necessarily mean a change of total space occupied.

Second is an effort to reinforce brand values through the workplace. Design can be used to underline themes such as ‘we practise what we preach’, demonstrate excellent customer service or respect for the environment, and showcase products and services.

An example of this is the recent Scott Brownrigg Interior Design project for Cadburys and its subsidiary company, Green & Black’s. Cadbury relocated its HQ from Berkeley Square in London to Uxbridge in 2008, and Scott Brownrigg was employed to refurbish the former headquarters building to a high-quality, contemporary Cat A standard for re-letting.

The building comprises 5600 sq m over eight floors, and is partially listed externally and internally in the spaces facing Berkeley Square. The rear extension is a 1980s addition.

During the refurbishment design stage, Green & Black’s, deciding it needed a prestigious London base, opted to move back into the building and occupy the ground floor. Scott Brownrigg created the design concept for Green & Black’s and incorporated the fit-out into the main contract for the building refurbishment. The office space occupied by Green & Black’s is a small floor with a newly created mix of open and enclosed office space, with special areas for meetings, product development and cold storage, plus a kitchen and break-out area. The reinvention involved introducing more open areas, a greater variety of informal collaborative space, and embedding the brand and image in the office design for all to see.

Green & Black’s makes and sells premium organic chocolate. This is reflected throughout: the reception desk front is manufactured from recycled coco shells, other recycled materials are used – in carpets, for example – and FSC timber veneers are specified. Bold forest images on graphic panels liven up the break-out area, and tall grass embedded in glass screens reinforces the green credentials and brand. The overall impression created is of a natural, fresh, high-quality and healthy lifestyle.

Landlords have different reasons to reinvent their properties. Their priority, in both good times and bad, is to attract and retain the right tenants at the highest rents and best lease terms possible. This requires a similarly holistic approach to the interior design.

The challenge for the rest of the Berkeley Square building was to make it attractive to organisations requiring open, dynamic workplaces and support for significant IT requirements, while relishing the beautiful period spaces and cellular rooms of the listed front part of the building and the grand central staircase.

The reinvented interior accordingly involves a mix of contemporary elements and listed features. Modern lighting, carpets and paint finishes are carried through the 1980s spaces and the listed areas to tie the two together sensitively.

Landlords must also take account of the management of their buildings and how best to build a partnership with occupiers. They might need to offer flexible lease terms, perhaps adding concierge or other FM services, onsite amenities such as shuttle bus services, or fully serviced space. Other considerations might include energy efficiency, disabled access, and rebranding.

Warnford Court
Esselco is a property company which owns and operates high-quality serviced and flexibly leased offices. In 2007 it acquired Warnford Court, a tired 7400 sq m property near the Stock Exchange in London with over 60 tenants. Scott Brownrigg Interior Design worked with The Interiors Group to reinvent the building while the occupiers remained in situ.

All the building’s common areas and building services were completely refurbished or replaced. The reception was transformed with a sophisticated black and white theme, a white floor and striplighting to lift and brighten the space. A light sculpture was commissioned to hang in the period stairwell, contrasting old and new and adding interest by changing colour through the day.

The lifts were moved from within the stairwell to a light well, and a matching ornate balustrade was manufactured to infill the missing section on the staircase. Office areas were refitted on a rolling programme over two years as the existing tenants’ leases expired or they moved to other units within the building.

A major part of the reinvention was to enhance the mix of space, introducing break-out space and social space for occupiers. The aim was to encourage the tenants of Warnford Court to feel pride in their place of work and regard the entire building as their office, complete with desk space, meeting rooms, break-out areas, coffee points, reception and so on. This has had the effect of repositioning Warnford Court in the marketplace.