The Background:

Refurbishment to the ground floor and reorganisation of three further floors was required to accommodate the integration of the Energizer team at Wilkinson Sword's head office.

Our Solution:

The ground floor area was largely a redundant cafe and kitchen area and featured a number of meeting rooms. This was stripped back to core and a modern office environment created to house three distinct functions; a finance team, customer meeting area and large cafe with facilities to hold internal company briefings and product launches. A formal demonstration room was also created directly off reception. The scheme required the accommodation of staff from the third floor to the first floor while HVAC and partition modifications were made. Staff were then relocated to the third floor while level one was overhauled to accommodate a large number of offices for the European operation. Finally the ground floor was refurbished along with the stairwells and toilets.

The Background:

Due to expansion Software AG required a larger southern office in the UK and London House in Bracknell was selected. The light and airy structure, with glass façade and expansive floors accommodates in the region of 80 employees. Software AG sought impressive client meeting and training facilities on the ground floor, with the first floor to house centralised core business teams and the second floor to be a dedicated executive suite akin to a luxury hotel or business class lounge.

Our Solution:

A distinguished reception area was created featuring a large, curved reception desk carrying the Software AG brand identity, a bespoke, hand tufted rug to animate the space, executive black leather sofas and earthen ceramic floor.

Flexibility was inherent to the brief for the ground floor; various rooms of differing sizes were formed to cater for any meeting style or size with the clever use of operable walls and a bespoke veneered multimedia wall. Specification of office furniture ranges from manufacturer Bene reflected both the style and ethos to underpin the Software AG culture.

The informal employee café facilities have breakout areas to enable casual work in a relaxed atmosphere and offer the very best in security with doors operated by thumb print readers.

Privacy and security was paramount on the second floor where the legal team and members of Software AG's executive board are based. With both finish and layout designed in keeping with the first floor the atmosphere fosters quiet concentration and provides excellent storage for the large quantity of documents that the department retains.

The Chief Operating Officer's suite and main boardroom have newly developed full height double glass doors and the bespoke grey stained ash Bene MK conference table seating eight is an imposing marriage to the electrically operated height adjustable desk. Also in the boardroom are complimentary black leather Coffice sofas that provide comfortable soft seating with integrated laptop connection. A touch sensitive 60 inch plasma television and multi programme lighting create the atmosphere of an exclusive business club.

The Background:

JohnsonDiversey were looking to create a suite to facilitate the demonstration of products, variety of markets served and internal training and staff development.

Our Solution:

The floor was divided into three zones forming a flexible meeting and conference facility with self serve vending and relaxed lounge area, an exhibition zone with an interactive AV solution with sector solution examples plus a learning and staff zone with individual cubicles and an electronic library.

The new design delivered a hotel lobby lounge feel with high quality finishes and comfort. The highly versatile exhibition area featured highly polished flooring and AV facility. The hard floor finishes were utilised whilst retaining the flexibility of the raised floor.

The Background:

Due to an increase in headcount at the UK head office, General Mills UK expanded from two to three floors of Harman House. Staff were to remain on the lower floors while the 8th floor was to be fitted out as a meeting room suite, informal coffee bar area and a fully equipped cafe serving hot food for both breakfast and lunch.

Our Solution:

Following careful survey of supplies for kitchen extract, water and waste which could be used with the approval of the Landlord the location of the cafe was confirmed and the remainder of the design followed.

The cafe was to be fun and vibrant to create a space for staff to be away from workstation space and feel as though they had a proper 'break' from the office. It was decided to not use any branding within this area to avoid favouring any particular product. The area evolved into a 50s style cafe diner inspired by the era which gave birth to the original 'Betty Crocker'. Black and white vinyl tiles sweep through the area accentuating the large space dedicated to staff. Diner booth style seating lines the external windows in bright red vinyl with retro white piping detail while the open area is populated with vibrant red and black Perspex chairs and stools to provide a variety of seating, whether staff are staying for a lazy lunch or just meeting up for a snack with colleagues.

Overlooking the area is a self serve toast and coffee bar and adjacent the fully equipped kitchen where meals are provided by an external catering team. A neon red 'Diner' sign and corresponding pictures tie in with the diner theme.

Alongside the kitchens is a Sensory Room where external 'taste tests' are carried out in-house to allow both visitors and staff to try out new recipes. Leading on are three 'customer rooms' each to serve the major supermarkets. Each room features a full wall external image of the relevant store, plus executive glass table and black leather padded chairs.

The reception follows on from the customer rooms moving towards the main lifts. The area, although not particularly large, is twinned with a very attractive coffee area inspired by the HaagenDazs ice cream shops and cafes. A warm, crisp gold coffee bar with clean white Corian worktop lifts the mainly walnut and maroon finished area. A smooth curved built-in bench sofa sweeps to one side from the coffee bar to the windows while the central area is furnished with walnut chairs and tables and bar area for hot deskers. A beautiful lace manifestation from the HaagenDazs ice cream pots runs through the area on glazed partitions which form private meeting zones. Each zone frames a striking black and white image of the well known 'HaagenDazs couples' formerly used in advertising.

At the opposite end of the floor to the cafe is a large suite of rooms, each dedicated to a brand team. As with the customer rooms each brand is reflected in the room's decor, for example one wall of the 'Green Giant' room is a life size view of sitting in a corn field!

Partitions are all tape and jointed between rooms while fronts are constructed using full height glazing with glazed doors allowing light to travel through the floor. The central corridor takes advantage of this with pockets of seating between structural columns to create the 'quiet, pensive' feel of an art gallery avoiding disruption to rooms on either side.

The use of clean glass lines in both the partitioning and the meeting tables along with sleek black leather chairs allows the striking bold carpet colours used in each brand room to reflect the main colour of each product – and yes in the 'Green Giant' rooms it's bright green!

The strong minimal lines of the layout design reflect the sleek ethos of General Mills whilst the bold but controlled use of colour in floor coverings and decor epitomises the powerful brand image synonymous with the General Mills portfolio.

Created in 8 weeks and on budget, the 8th floor meeting and breakout suite has provided General Mills with a strong business tool to impress customers and staff alike.