Mix Interiors 194 - May 2019

Mix Interiors 194 186

July May 2019 2018

INSIDE UPFRONT 13 Steve Gale 23 Perspective 24 Seven... 26 Material Matters 28 Deser t Island Desks 30 Proper t y Matters 32

SPOTLIGHT 45 Big Question 47 30 Under 30 Class of 2019 48

CASE ST UDIES 60 Pukka Herbs 60 Ice, E xchange Quay 68 chapmanbdsp 76

ROUNDTABLE 88 PRE VIE W 95 CDW Preview 95

L AST WORD 120 Criteo's Head of Workplace E xperience, Mike Walley

48 32

30 88

SPOTLIGHT

It 's back! We bring you our eagerly awaited annual list of the cream of the design industr y 's rising talents.

Mix 194 May 2019 | 1

Upfront | Welcome

A WORD FROM MICK THE COVER The logo As this issue focuses on young stars within the industry, we thought it was about time we let our own talented designer, Tammi, show her creative skills by designing a Mix logo.

Inspired by the beautiful, subtle-toned fabrics on display on the cover, Tammi wanted to texture the logo to complement said fabrics.

Each letterform has a different weight but is from the same family, with warped form to give it a low-fi, cut-out effect. www.mixinteriors.com

The cover IVC designs and makes carpet tiles, LVT and heterogeneous vinyl floors in-house to bring innovative products that add value to your work. Through high-performance carpet tiles that focus on texture, colour and the potential for endless layout combinations, IVC brings versatile solutions for your project. www.ivc-commercial.com

You might have seen the recent ‘story’ about a Starbucks coffee cup being visible in a scene from Game of Thrones. While hundreds of keen-eyed (and extremely smug) viewers vilified the show for its ridiculous mistake, it really got me thinking.

While we’ve never seen a Starbucks concession at Winterfell, that’s not to say there isn’t one (and to those of you who derisively snort that there could never be a Starbucks etc – it’s fantasy, and if you think a coffee house is the most far-fetched thing in the show…). What I do wonder, however, is whether the Starbucks is within Winterfell’s walls, therefore providing a great opportunity for interaction, collaboration and accidental collisions? What is certain is that House Stark is clearly struggling to give its people a healthy work/battle/life balance.

They are clearly trying to introduce elements of

GET IN TOUCH Editor Mick Jordan mick@wearemixgroup.com

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2 | Mix 194 May 2019

wellbeing – there’s all the free wine, there’s the biophilia (although you can’t really see it now winter has come) and Daenerys is allowed to bring her pet dragons to work, but there’s still a real hierarchical structure and staff retention isn’t good – mainly because everyone keeps dying.

Going back to the Starbucks issue, it was clearly Daenerys’ drink (she wasn’t overdoing it with the wine because she had to drive her dragon later on). I wonder how the transaction went…

Daenerys: Flat white please.

Barista: Sure, what’s your name?

Daenerys: Daenerys Stormborn of the House Targaryen, First of Her Name, the Unburnt, Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Khaleesi of the Great Grass Sea, Breaker of Chains and Mother of Dragons.

Barista: Erm, ok…

Contributors Steve Gale David Thame Mike Walley Address 85 Greengate Manchester M3 7NA

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Join us at MixInspired Manchester Wednesday 3 July 2019, 6pm - 8pm Barclays, Eagle Lab, Union, Albert Square, Manchester, M2 6LW

“How design creates an emotional experience�

MixInspired is open to A&D, D&B and property professionals. Join us for drinks and nibbles plus some great networking opportunities before our panel discuss the task faced by designers on achieving an emotional impact.

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Upfront |

PUBLIC IMAGE Showcase PSR is an exciting new joint venture between Showcase and Combined Office Interiors, bringing together 20 years’ direct experience and expertise in the public sector market.

Showcase is an award-winning independent furniture dealer, providing consultancy, procurement and installation services to all market sectors and businesses of various shapes and sizes.

Combined Office Interiors was established in 1999, specialising in office and educational furniture.

With an appetite to expand, Showcase sought a joint partnership to help continue growth and exclusively focus on public sector and regional business; PSR is a new business with its own identity but with the strength of being a subsidiary of a £37m business.

Showcase PSR now aims to offer unrivalled knowledge and expertise, providing impartial and unbiased advice, by recommending products from a wide variety of suppliers based on clients’ business objectives and their criteria for function, design and budget.

Showcase PSR will set itself apart by providing its clients with the combination of purchasing power and knowledge of the furniture market, giving its clients the right furniture solution for the best available cost.

We’re told that Showcase PSR has already won its first big contract, which is due to be installed this month. Co-founder, Darren Griffin, says: ‘This is a fantastic early win for Showcase PSR against strong competition and one which the whole company should be proud of.’w

Showcase PSR

HACK TO THE FUTURE We were lucky enough to be able to take a look at Vitra’s Sprint Workhackathon, where a selection of leading design firms were tasked with creating with solutions for a ‘Post Desk Economy’, at the leading Swiss manufacturer's Clerkenwell showroom.

Running throughout the afternoon, the Workhackathon included teams from BDP, IA, HLW, Levitt Bernstein, HASSELL, Basha Franklin and Perkins+ Will, with each encouraged to be innovative beyond their area of expertise and create the unexpected by setting up open minded and public spaces, far from their existing building, workplace strategy and workstyles.

Connectivity was singled out as the critical driver for economic growth and prosperity, with the Post Desk Economy growing out of connectivity and not out of a place by itself. Teams were asked to build up a complex network, with the flow of services, people, ideas and capital means creating a new, exciting, bigger picture.

After hours of friendly competition and invention (and no little fun), the teams were asked to present their innovative solutions, which were then in turn judged – the winners being BDP and IA (interior Architects).w

TAKE NOTE During the recent Milan Design Week, Tarkett joined forces with Note Design Studio to explore the creative possibilities of its new collection iQ Surface – which is due to launch in the UK this Summer.

Designed by Note, and supported by Magis, Formations is an exhibition that questions notions of scale by taking architectural archetypes and turning them on their head. Situated in the historic Circolo Filologico Milanese, the installation was a celebration and homage to how design language can be twisted into new creative phrases. As one of the oldest centres for the research and study

of language, Circolo Filologico Milanese was the perfect backdrop to spark discussion around the infinite design possibilities presented by Tarkett’s new homogeneous vinyl collection. Formations explores the creative potential of iQ Surface, the new collection co-designed by the Tarkett design team and Note, with architects and designers in mind. Flexible, durable and sustainably sound, this new generation of industrial and creative surface material is equally at home whether wrapped around objects, climbing across walls or forming patterns in combinations.w

Tarkett Formations

Mix 194 May 2019 | 13

Upfront |

Simon Pengelly

NTT Data

DATA ANALYTICS

THEO TURNS 10 A decade ago, when acclaimed British furniture designer, Simon Pengelly, was asked to design a wooden stacking chair for use in churches, neither he or Chorus Furniture (commissioning the design) would have predicted where the result would lead them. In its role as a church chair, Theo has won numerous awards and sits proudly in ecclesiastical buildings across the globe. It is the highly resolved nature of its design that has seen the chair transcend from churches into a multitude of environments, in which it is effortlessly suitable.

The growth in popularity of the chair across a range of applications naturally led to the development of a matching family of Theo products.

Some 10 years later, Chorus – which is part of New Design Group – has completed a successful show at the Stockholm Furniture Fair, exhibiting the Theo family in a stand-alone display. Stockholm also saw the launch of a further two products into the range: the Theo Worktable and Theo Media Screen.

In a recent interview, Simon Pengelly was asked which of his designs he is most proud of. ‘There are many that I’m proud of for lots of reasons, but the Theo Chair and the extended Theo range, designed and developed for Chorus, is certainly one of my favourites,’ he admitted. ‘The project was (and still is) a joy to do because of the collaboration with the client and supplying manufacturer. Furthermore, the purity of the concept allows us to keep adding to the range in an intuitive way, enabling Theo to be offered into an enormous number of very differing environments. Theo was a project where every facet of the process just clicked, and these projects are very rare.’

To celebrate 10 years of Theo, New Design Group are dedicating their entire Clerkenwell showroom to showing the range. The show, dubbed ‘Theo Takeover’ is open to visitors from 21 May until 21 June at 250-252 Goswell Road.w

14 | Mix 194 May 2019

Rainbow recently collaborated with Resonate Interiors, successfully supplying furniture for fast growing IT business, NTT Data, at Epworth House on London’s Old Street. NTT is a top 10 global business and IT service provider with a Japanese Heritage, boasting more than 100,000 professionals in over 50 countries.

NTT Data had made the decision to consolidate two parts of the business, from Curtain Road and Royal Exchange, together under one roof. Resonate delivered a creative, innovative and potentially award-winning space.

It was vital that they were left with a flexible and adaptable space that would showcase NTT data as well as attract and retain the best talent.

The client also required an office that would be sustainable and promote the wellbeing of their employees while using technology. It was also crucial that the re-design at Epworth House should reflect the well-established NTT brand and allow for staff to collaborate effectively and intelligently.

Rainbow was appointed by Resonate to supply the furniture and assist in the brief provided by the client, who had highlighted the importance of collaboration between teams and its business. The interior design and space played a fundamental role in allowing for smart ways of working. A combination of spaces were also required to promote innovation and for staff to enjoy, as well as an intelligent space Origin

and a desk booking, hoteling and management system. The client and Resonate Interiors also agreed that it was advantageous to leverage the capability of ‘multiple business units under one roof’ in a vibrant and tech focused part of London, therefore technology was incorporated into the design to showcase what NTT are about. Working closely with the client and with the brief in mind, Rainbow helped craft a space that is both invigorating, memorable and, most importantly, user friendly and engaging.

A big part of the furniture brief was to take a ‘fresh’ look at the fixed desking requirement in the open plan areas. After approaching several manufactures for proposals and budget costings, Rainbow engaged with Londonbased manufacturer, Rawside, who was able to customise its standard Surf range of tables; increasing the wire management capabilities and introducing a bespoke plywood top with undercut edge and lacquered inkjet-printed graphics to meet Resonate’s requirements.

Rawside produced several samples of the bespoke printed tops for both NTT Data and Resonate to review before settling on a very individual design. Rawside also produced the open plan storage and lockers in valchromat (dyed MDF) board in distinct colourways to suit the Resonate scheme, and a selection of bespoke meeting tables with a mix of linoleum and printed graphic tops.w

SPRING KINGS An extensive £2m refurbishment at 70 Spring Gardens, Manchester, is nearing completion as the building prepares to relaunch as Origin – a high quality, designled office space solution, providing small suites alongside hotel-style facilities, all beautifully inspired by the roaring 30s. Boasting 25 exclusive workspaces, up to 1,500 sq ft, and two ground floor retail units, the building also features a cycle hub, gym, business lounge and roof garden with views across King Street and beyond.

Designed by Incognito and marketed by Sixteen Real Estate and Avison Young, Origin is set to open in June.w

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Upfront |

TEA TIME Brew Tea is an independent Manchester-based company focusing on premium tea. They make awesome tea with rolled, whole leaves and supply proper brews to 16 countries all over the world.

Now five years old, Brew Tea has grown dramatically in size. The rapid business growth has meant that the business was quickly outgrowing its office space and needed some smart thinking to adapt the space to meet its business needs without relocating. Connection furniture was specified to create breakout, training and office spaces to help maximise the way the Brew Tea Team operates within the existing space.

Bold and bright furniture pieces were specified to create a vibrant and energised scheme, designed to complement the Brew Tea branding and business ethos.

Within the main office space, poseur height tables and high back statement seats were specified to allow informal meetings and touchdown areas for staff to break away from their desks.

Freestanding rooms were installed within the main warehouse to create two new office and meeting spaces, while acoustic baffles were added to soften noise reverberation and glass walls help create a connected feeling to the rest of the space.

Critical to the whole space was the installation of a Brew Station and Tea Training area to encourage collaboration, knowledge sharing and creativity.w Brew Tea

Paddy Power Betfair

CLAREMONT IS FIRST OVER THE LINE Claremont has secured a seven-figure contract with leading international sports betting and gaming operator, Paddy Power Betfair, for three office refurbishments. The Warringtonheadquartered business will deliver office refurbishment projects spanning 224,000 sq ft for Paddy Power Betfair in Dublin, Hammersmith and Halifax over the next three years, with the first expected to start on site at the end of the year.

Claremont’s team has already started work on the design of the Dublin office at Bellfield Park, which will be extended by 40% to 159,000 sq ft, with significant extensions on the ground, first and second floors, before the interior design and fit-out work begins.

Claremont’s scope of works includes both Cat A and Cat B in Dublin and Cat B for the 12,000 sq ft Halifax and 53,000 sq ft Hammersmith sites.

Tim Frankland, Joint Managing Director at Claremont says: ‘The Dublin project in particular will set a new benchmark in our 43-year history and will be both exciting and challenging due to its scale and complexity. The fact that we have built a strong relationship with a fantastic client, who allows us to play to our strengths, is both crucial and rewarding.

Country

Unemployment rate %

United states

3.8

There is nothing so pitiful

China

3.7

as a young cynic because

Japan

2.3

he has gone from knowing

Britain

3.9

nothing to believing nothing

Canada

5.8

Greece

18.5

Italy

10.7

Spain

13.9

Czech Republic

2.0

QUOTE OF THE MONTH - MAYA ANGELOU

16 | Mix 194 May 2019

‘Paddy Power Betfair is a tour de force in its field and has some very pioneering ideas about the work environment it wants to create for its employees. This contract will see us support Paddy Power Betfair in bringing those ambitions to life, particularly in relation to workplace agility and collaboration.

While all three projects won’t run concurrently, there will be some overlap, so we will have a dedicated multi-disciplinary team on the account, headed by our Creative Director, Ken Bundy, and supported by a number of quantity surveyors, designers and project managers.’

Mark Mercer, Head of CRE and Workspace at Paddy Power Betfair, says: ‘These refurbishments are part of realising our vision to be an employer of choice and to ensure we have the right facilities and inspiring and collaborative spaces to support our online operations.

‘Claremont’s reputation is best in class, having delivered profile projects for King, TalkTalk and AutoTrader, amongst others. We are delighted to be partnering with a creative, experienced and commercially-astute team on these projects.’w

STAT OF THE MONTH Unemployment rate At 3.9% the unemployment rate is at its lowest point since 1975. No doubt zero hours contracts have an impact on this figure – but some way off the 8% back in 2012.

Source: Economist Intelligence Unitw

Upfront |

TRADING HUB Desk top power module, monitor arm and cabling solutions manufacturer and supplier, ABL UK Limited, has relocated its customer showroom facility to a more prominent location in London.

Located in the heart of Clerkenwell, the opening of the new showroom is part of ABL’s ongoing plan for growth in the UK and to enable the company to showcase new products to a wider audience.

The new showroom represents a significant investment for ABL, who plan to use the new street level showroom to display its full product range.

Set within a real office environment, customers will be able to see and experience first-hand the functionality and benefits of each product before choosing to stock the ABL range or recommend them on commercial office fit-out projects.

Whilst ABL has had a showroom in Clerkenwell for a number of years, the company had outgrown its previous property, which was located in a basement, meaning that potential customers could simply walk past without knowing it was there.

Commenting on the move, ABL UK Managing Director, Paul McKenzie, said: ‘Our new location is still very much in the heart of Clerkenwell, but now we are at street level it means our branding and products will be much more prominent. We therefore hope to benefit from passing footfall, particularly during Clerkenwell Design Week, which is such an influential event in the calendar of key events for our industry.’

The new showroom address is The Old Trading House on Northburgh Street.’w

Power module from ABL UK Limited

JUDGES' CHAMBER The Mix team, together with an esteemed panel of industry experts, recently commandeered Davison Highley's Clerkenwell showroom for this year's Mixology judging session.

Our 2019 judging panel comprises Rhonda Curliss, Group CCO at Linesight, Clare Johnston, Professor at the Royal College of Arts, David Kosky, Co-founder of Work.Life, Tahera Hammond, Global Head of Workplace for Investec, Jim Meier, MD at Day2, Conran Director, Tina Norden, Andy and Rich Ward, Co-owners of RAW Brothers and BDP Principal, Mark Simpson.

The shortlist can be found on the Mix website.w

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Upfront |

HB Reavis Focus Area

LOVE WHERE YOU WORK

HB Reavis Employee Hub

International workspace provider, HB Reavis, moved into its new UK headquarters at 33 Central in the City of London in February. Working with Swiss architecture and design studio, Evolution Design, the company has implemented a peoplecentric design approach, creating a variety of bright and inspiring spaces, tailored to suit different tasks. The new workspace, which also acts as a showcase space for the brand, demonstrates HB Reavis’ innovative approach to development and incorporates state-of-the-art facilities, including technology that monitors lighting, air quality and noise pollution in real time.

HB Reavis UK previously occupied two floors of a nearby office building that didn’t encourage internal communication or support collaboration or informal socialising. The former location also lacked a diversity of work environments, had poor

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18 | Mix 194 May 2019

to absorb footfall time and time again, bringing long-term underfoot comfort.

Instead of the carpet tile fibres having to absorb the constant impact of footfall and traffic, comfortBack also soaks up punishment, enhancing the wear resistance and appearance retention of modulyss carpet tiles and helping them to last longer. The backing also makes installations quieter than those using standard back2back equipped carpet tiles.w

lighting and air quality and did not encourage mobility. ‘The goal for HB Reavis’ new UK office was to deliver a more collaborative working environment by creating a space that breaks down departmental silos and enhances staff communication,’ says Evolution Design founder Stefan Camenzind. ‘With our workspace concept, we aimed to improve employee wellbeing and boost productivity.’

In practice, creating flexible cross-departmental collaboration is achieved by forming small teams of varied specialists, often joined by colleagues from other HB Reavis’ locations.

‘To support the formation of these teams, the new office combines activity-based workspaces with hot desking to create an environment that empowers people to work in a way that best suits the task at hand,’ says Stefan.w

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KINDRED SPIRIT

Kindred collection by Shaw Contract

Shaw Contract has launched Kindred, a new collection that marks its first globallyproduced carpet tile. Designed to support global specification, Kindred translates and resonates across cultures and continents. Manufactured in the UK and at Shaw Contract’s facilities in the US and China, the collection enables designers to create a cohesive experience across destinations, wherever they are.

Andrew Jackson, Marketing Director EMEA, Shaw Contract, comments: ‘Kindred represents an exciting step for the business. The 16-colour palette was hand-picked to help bring the comforts of home into any workplace interior around the world. The collection inspires the feeling of connection both through its design and its availability.’

Offering a choice of styles and scales to support pattern interplay, Kindred provides designers with the choice to develop either simple or intricate installations. Indeed, designers can choose from styles Belong, Dream or Memory, or combine them for added effect.

The subtleties within the colour palette bring an added dimension to the collection, allowing it to work seamlessly across applications, while the styles are also designed to complement and integrate perfectly with other flooring solutions.

In the spaces where we gather today, we increasingly appreciate the significance of togetherness. Designed to evoke the feeling of personal connectivity, Kindred helps create spaces that encourage a feeling of identification, and brings warmth and comfort into any interior.w

PLAYING THE BLUES Dark blue is the world’s most relaxing colour a landmark study has revealed today. The finding comes on the back of a 2018 survey by the Mental Health Foundation, which revealed that nearly three quarters of Britons have felt overwhelmed by stress in the last year.

Orange is the happiest colour, while pink is the sexiest, it was also revealed in an unprecedented international survey of more than 26,000 people from over 100 countries by fine paper company, G.F Smith.

In a report recently published, based on the responses of people globally, G.F Smith has mapped out the colours the world most associates with a range of emotions, elements of the natural world and physical attributes.

Embarking on one of the most ambitious studies into the emotional meanings behind colour ever conducted, G.F Smith asked 26,596 people to choose their favourite colour.

In selecting their preferred hue, survey respondents were asked to name the word they most associate with their colour of choice.

Making use of sophisticated algorithms, G.F Smith then took the narratives supplied by survey respondents in a bid to establish which colours had the strongest associations with different words.

When picking their favourite colour, respondents’ most common word association was ‘happy’ followed by ‘calm’, ‘bright’, ‘warm’, ‘sky’, ‘sea’, ‘fresh’, ‘vibrant’ and ‘summer’.

The survey revealed that, globally, people associate the colours of ‘strong’ with shades of blue, red and orange. Calmness is most inspired by dark blues, turquoises and pinks, while notions of the future are most often associated with shades of green.

G.F Smith Joint Managing Director, John Haslam, said: ‘Colour has always had an intrinsic relationship with our culture and is woven into our consciousness. The story of colour maps a particular history through our cultural development – telling a much larger story about the way we perceive, value and cherish colour.’ w

Soft Work designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby for Vitra

SOFT SELL This Spring, Vitra will be unveiling a new modular seating system called Soft Work. Soft Work is an innovative product designed by Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby for modern workspaces.

Vitra, with Edward Barber and Jay Osgerby, have devised and developed the new seating system Soft Work, uniting expertise from the home, office and public sectors. Instead of creating a working environment centered around desks with peripheral sofas, Soft Work has developed into a system in which table workstations are focused around a seating landscape.

Barber and Osgerby see this as a long-term development: ‘The workstation is going the same way as the dining room - it’s disappearing as an archetype. The desk has had its day. That’s our belief.’

Soft Work will be showcased in the Vitra London showroom in Clerkenwell.w

T: 0161 402 3340 W: www.opus-4.com E: hello@opus-4.com

Mix 194 May 2019 | 19

Upfront |

YOUNG DESIGNER OF THE YEAR AWARD Here’s your chance to not only view the shortlist for this year’s Mixology Young Designer of the Year award, in association with The Furniture Makers’ Company and sponsored by KI, but to also have a say in who wins.

You’ll have to be quick though, as voting closes on Tuesday 21 May, while the winner will be announced at the prestigious Mixology Awards at Old Billingsgate, London, on 20 June. To vote for your favourite, simply go to: www.mixinteriors.com/young-designer-of-the-year-2019

Sointula Range Andrew Hamilton (Andrew Hamilton Design), Manchester School of Art (MMU) Designed for batch or mass production, the Sointula range is aimed at the home or commercial market and consists of a chair, desk and lamp. Ash timber has been used throughout the range for its aesthetic warmth and its technical properties, such as flexural strength to enable relatively unsupported spans, particularly in the back rest of the chair. A steel rod in the lamp was used for its capability to be bent in a multi directional manner; suitable for volume production, whilst maintaining the minimal visual language that runs throughout the range.

The range proposes possibilities about how we may begin to provide furniture with a high end, hand crafted character to a wider market at more affordable price points.

Scarf Loop Coat Hangers Hollie Owen, University of Plymouth Inspired by Tom Raffield, Hollie Owen learned about steam bending wood and began creating the Scarf Loop Coat Hanger for her second year design project. After experimenting with organic natural shapes, Hollie decided that her top priority was to keep the hanger as simple as possible. First, she selected straight grained ash wood and then steam-bent it for an hour. She then bent the wood by hand over a large drainpipe and finished it in wax.

Metal Chair One Leon Farago, Northumbria University Metal Chair One is metal lounge chair made using traditional panel beating techniques. This chair takes inspiration from the Aircraft of the 1930’s, where flowing elegant forms meet sharp engineered edges. It is sculptural in form, beautiful and useful. Leon is driven by a curiosity of materials and a love of craftsmanship. MCO is made with 2mm Aluminium sheet which is separately hand shaped in four parts and welded together, then further shaped as one piece to give rigidity of form. It is self-supporting, strong and visually thin in profile. The aluminium is dull sanded soft to touch with a raw finish. The legs are made with steel bar, heated and bent into shape, the form of which gives a slight spring to the seat increasing comfort.

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20 | Mix 194 May 2019

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Upfront |

WONDERFULLY WIRELESS This month, M Moser's Steve Gale wonders about less cabling and more battery storage

W There is great hope in portable power, by which I mean batteries

Steve Gale is Head of Business Intelligence at M Moser Associates. SteveG@mmoser.com

ires are a pain, and they literally chain you to the spot. So getting rid of them is a good thing.

The wires that carry information have been hacked away at for years. Starting with ship communication, then broadcast radio and then WiFi. Now ethernet connections are becoming extinct, satellites bridge the oceans and the telephone network is really a broadband distribution, while landline phones get squeezed out by mobile devices. The days of information carrying wires are numbered, so that battle is almost won.

What about power cables? Baby steps are being taken here but progress is slow. You can see inductive charging spots for phones in Starbucks occasionally, first class carriages in some trains have them on table tops and my toothbrush is charged inductively – but that’s about it. The power transfer is too inefficient to keep things going in real time while they are being used.

Will we ever get rid of those annoying power cables?

The laws of physics limit electromagnetic fields to keep this prospect off the horizon. No matter how efficient devices become, the proximity to the induction coil rules out any portable use. Phones can charge when sitting on the charging dot, but it stops when you pick it up. The laws of physics are unlikely to be re-written.

However there is great hope in portable power, by which I mean batteries. The world of EVs (electric vehicles), renewable energy and sustainability is really pushing the boundaries. The rate of increase of renewable sources in the UK has shocked pundits – it is much higher now than expected 10 years ago, surpassing even optimistic targets. Elon Musk has forced car manufacturers to compete in a market that is only just over five years old, and city authorities are banning internal combustion engines, while central governments place expiry dates on their sale.

Battery technology is moving fast. You can already buy power banks for your home to store the juice from a windmill and a Tesla today might run for nearly 400 miles without charging (although a two year old iPhone will struggle to last a day). Electrical devices

are using progressively less power, and batteries are becoming lighter and are living longer. What does this mean for the workplace?

A recent experience has got me thinking. A forward-looking client in India wants an infinitely flexible workplace because he operates in a very fast moving world and any configuration today will be redundant tomorrow. Many, if not most of the elements in a workspace can be portable, or at least easily moved, so the challenge is getting the wires to follow the kit as it migrates. At the moment this means we can reasonably go wireless for telephones and internet connections, but we get stuck on the power for laptops, screens, mobile phones and the other devices we all have.

The usual response is to use the 50-year-old solution of a raised floor with all the cabling emerging where it is needed, but this client is in India, where developers do not install raised floors. We could build a bespoke floor and muddle through the problems of ramps, lift thresholds, stair landings, window sills and door heights, and of course a reduced ceiling height, but the cost is painful and the quality in a region where it is not done is unlikely to be guaranteed.

This is where batteries come in. I thought about our New York office, where they have the same problem of distribution, but for a different reason.

My colleagues there inhabit the iconic Woolworth building, which is great but has many design restrictions due to its conservation status – which means no raised floor. So they too want flexibility in an inflexible building.

A tentative suggestion to look at battery power was taken up wholesale 18 months ago and now the whole office of 60 people drive their laptops and screens from small portable battery packs, which they charge overnight. Meeting rooms are hard-wired as they are next to the core, but the entire open space is a cable-free zone, and they have not looked back.

True flexibility is theirs, and battery technology has already improved in this short time to make cordless power even more efficient.

We will now see how this can work in India, at scale.w

Mix 194 May 2019 | 23

Upfront | Perspective

PERSPECTIVE June Koh heads up the workplace strategy team across Europe and Asia at WeWork.

Prior to her role at WeWork, she was the U.K. Studio Leader for AECOM’s workplace strategy practice. WeWork provides its members around the world with space, community and services through both physical and virtual offerings.

What is WeWork’s ‘sweet spot’ in terms of the size of business it is looking to attract? Our community is a mix of ambitious startups and scaling small and medium-sized businesses, as well as large corporate companies who are increasingly moving away from more traditional work environments. We currently have over 400,000 members across 27 countries from a range of industries, including tech, design, finance and marketing.

The community aspect of WeWork is what attracts these companies to our spaces, especially the larger enterprises – they want to share an environment with companies that have a different mindset. Enterprise companies (companies with more than 1,000 employees) now represent 32% of our total membership. What we’ve seen over the last few years is that these large companies are increasingly coming to us, seeking a more energetic, productive and inspirational environment for their employees.

What is your role at WeWork? At WeWork, I head up the workplace strategy team for EMEA. I’ve been with WeWork for nearly a year and I’m based at our European headquarters in London; we’re a team of four working across the region, but working closely with the team in our global headquarters in New York.

With strategy, technology and people in mind, we’re focused on understanding what our members need to be productive and happy at work. This leads to WeWork designing the best workplaces for our members.

While many enterprise companies are taking private offices within WeWork communities around the world, we have

24 | Mix 194 May 2019

also introduced new business lines to accommodate demand from businesses to redesign their own spaces. Powered

by We and headquarters by WeWork are proving very attractive, and creating these projects is a big part of my role.

Ultimately, I work closely with businesses to create the spaces they want and need in order to be more successful.

Are clients becoming more knowledgeable and therefore more challenging? Businesses are certainly clearer about what they’re looking for from workspaces, but this doesn’t mean more challenges for us. If anything, it’s allowing us to have better and more meaningful conversations with them, and work on more complex and exciting projects together.

What we’ve found at WeWork is that there has been a shift towards a new way of working, and people are seeking a more flexible working environment that makes work work for them. There’s a strong buy-in from corporate leaders that workplaces can and should be part of their wider workplace culture and people strategy.

When I started working in this industry, my clients tended to be the real estate function of a company, and they were mostly focused on cost and efficiency. But more and more, real estate functions are trying to shift the conversation from purely cost saving to also include value generation, focusing more on the workplace as part of a wider strategic conversation around transformation, employee experience and building community. I personally believe the two aren’t mutually exclusive.

WeWork provides flexible high-quality workspaces to our members that

also have a positive impact on their productivity. In a recent study, we found that a company of four in a WeWork space in London saves as much as £24,000. This same study also showed that 81% of members in London credit WeWork with improving their company’s productivity.

These days, workplace decisions are also driven by a more diverse group of stakeholders internally, involving people teams, ops and business leaders themselves.

Name one thing that will have disappeared from the workplace in the next decade. The traditional ‘fixed’ office is becoming less appealing to businesses and the workplace of the future will no longer remain a self-contained environment, but become a hybrid – shaping local communities and boosting local growth; for example, we may see less fixed desks and more flexibility as to where people base themselves at work. The workplace is currently going through a huge and positive transformation, and WeWork is accelerating the movement towards this new way of working.

What is the one thing that you would change when working with architects and designers?

Traditionally, the design process, from conception to delivery, is very linear.

I think it’s important for different departments to work coherently, not separately. At WeWork, the design team is multidisciplinary – we have in-house architects, graphic designers, engineers and more – which we’ve structured to try and counter traditional hold-ups and delays between separate parties.

We also acquired the construction

company, LTB, in 2018, which means we can complete the circle in terms of construction and run the process from beginning to end.

Does London/UK present different challenges than US/ overseas? Absolutely. Workplaces are fundamentally an extension of a company’s culture. WeWork is a global company, yet we design on a local level, meaning that we incorporate cultural features into our spaces, which represent the city or neighbourhood in which the building is located. Examples of these original features can be seen in all locations, like in Tel Aviv, where rooftops are more common due to the warm climate; barista stations in London, where the demand for coffee is higher than in other cities; and lower seating built into the ground in Tokyo.

I believe that culture, behaviours and social norms can really vary depending on where you’re based, and I’ve had the opportunity to learn more about other people’s cultures by working across continents –something I find incredibly humbling.

If it’s not too much like saying you have a favourite child, which is your fave WeWork and why? Out of all the hubs we’ve created around the world, the one that I’m most drawn to is Devonshire Square in London. For me, work/life integration is incredibly important, and at Devonshire Square we’re not only bringing opportunities to our members based there, but we’re impacting the local neighbourhood and surroundings.w For additional interview content, be sure to visit the Mix Interiors website: www.mixinteriors.com

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ACTIVE CHOICE. DYNAMIC CONTROL.

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Upfront | Seven

7

When our friends at leading flooring company IVC, whose manufacturing base is in Belgium, told us they were preparing a list of Belgian classics, we got quite excited at the prospect of reading about timeless chair designs and the likes (well, we are unashamed furniture geeks!). We were, however, even more excited when we received this fascinating, diverse selection of true Belgian classics…

Belgian Classics

1 1. The Tour of Flanders Belgium is the spiritual home of professional road cycling and the Tour of Flanders is certainly among the country’s biggest sporting events. Part of the famous Classics series of one-day races, the Tour of Flanders sees elite professional cyclists tackle the famous cobbled tracks and bergs – small, sharp hills – of the Flanders countryside. In a war of attrition over some 164 miles, the winner of the Tour of Flanders gains a place in cycling folklore and winning the race is an ambition of many professional cyclists.

Such is the love for the race in Belgium, the pavé – cobbled sections of track – are lovingly tended by the local community to ensure they are in great (and punishingly brutal) condition for the race. Often quiet and barely used, these sections and famous bergs, such as the Koppenburg and Paterburg, are lined with thousands of Belgians waving the region’s iconic lion flags on race day.

26 | Mix 194 May 2019

2 2. Peter Paul Rubens Knighted by both Philip IV of Spain and Charles I of England, there is no doubt that Rubens is Belgium’s most celebrated artist. The painter is considered a true master with his work, Massacre of the Innocents, selling for £49.5m. Famed for his nudes of full-figured women, giving rise to terms like ‘Rubensian’ or ‘Rubenesque’, Rubens’ fame as a court painter also led him to become a diplomat, moving between the courts of Spain and England in an attempt to bring peace between the Spanish Netherlands and the Dutch Republic. Through his Antwerp studio, Rubens also influenced the work of apprentices, his most famous student being Anthony Van Dyck, who became England’s leading court painter.

3 3. Trappist Tripel Beer With a strength bordering on 10% ABV and a history rooted in monastic brewing, Trappist Tripel is certainly worthy of a spot as a Belgian classic. This strong pale ale is made with three-times the malt of other ales, accounting for the name Tripel and the high ABV. A true Trappist beer is closely guarded, and must be brewed within the walls of a Trappist monastery, by the monks themselves or under their close supervision and not as a profit-making venture, with any profit donated to charity. While there are Trappist brewers in the UK, USA, Italy, France, Spain and Holland, nowhere is as prolific or historic as Belgium, with six active breweries, the earliest of these dating back to 1836.

4. Tintin Georges Prosper Rémi, known by his pen name Hergé, is undoubtedly the most famous cartoonist to come from Belgium. ‘The Adventures of Tintin’ is part of popular culture and has been adapted to theatre, radio, TV, cinema and even gaming. Featuring the unforgettable characters Tintin, Snowy, Thompson and Thompson and Captain Haddock, on their adventures across the world, Hergé’s work was widely acclaimed for the clarity of draughtsmanship and well-researched plots.

With the first Tintin cartoon published in serial format in 1929, Hergé continued to pen the series throughout WWII under German occupation, an act that led to his arrest by the Belgian authorities after the war. Tintin went on to compete with Asterix, cited by many critics as the foremost comic in the Franco-Belgian tradition, much to the annoyance of Hergé, until finally ceasing production in 1988, some five years after his death.

4 5 5. Chocolate Chocolate has been a major industry of Belgium since the 1800s and is still an important part of the country’s economy and culture. Renowned for its high standard across the world, the composition of Belgian chocolate has been regulated by the government since 1894 when, in order to prevent low quality, a minimum 35% pure cocoa level was imposed. Now a voluntary quality standard, the Belgian Chocolate Code ensures that refining, mixing and conching must be carried out in Belgium. In nearly every Belgian town you are likely to find chocolatiers handcrafting exquisite pralines (invented by the Belgian industry), truffles and figurines for sale. There are over 2,000 chocolatiers in Belgium, with some 172,000 tonnes produced each year.

6 7 6. The Wrap Dress Born in Brussels, Diane von Fürstenburg is most famed for her knitted jersey wrap dress of 1974, which, due to its influence in fashion, is now in the collection of the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum of Art. The success of the dress saw Diane grace the cover of Newsweek magazine in 1976, declaring her ‘the most marketable woman since Coco Chanel’. Worn by Michelle Obama in the official White House Christmas card and the subject of an entire exhibition, the wrap dress has become a wardrobe staple for modern life. Since inventing the wrap dress and now established as a fashion great, Diane Von Fürstenburg became one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People of 2015 as well as founding the Diller-von Fürstenburg Family Foundation.

7. JPEG 2000 Belgian physicist and mathematician, Ingrid Daubechies, is recognised for her study of the mathematics involved in image compression and the creation of the Daubechies and CDF wavelets. A wavelet from this family is now used in the JPEG 2000 image standard, invented in 2000 to supersede the former JPEG standard, with a more flexible and scalable compression technology, eliminating much of the blocking of highly-compressed JPEGs. Ingrid has also developed sophisticated image processing technologies used to help establish the authenticity and age of some of the world’s most famous works of art – maybe even the odd Rubens or two.

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Upfront | Material Matters

MATERIAL MATTERS EGGER Utilising the latest in technological advances, EGGER Interior Decors offers an extensive range of laminates that are certain to impress. Designed and manufactured to be used in both residential and commercial applications, EGGER laminates are scratch resistant, impact resistant and wear resistance. Easily processed and versatile, the Interior Decors collection offers a myriad of design aesthetics, ranging from plain colours to marble. Due to the high standard of hygiene and cleanliness, EGGER laminates are particularly suitable for restaurants and hospital projects. Photo credit: 2018 Nicola Venturuzzo. www.egger.com

Karndean Designflooring Inspired by traditional Moroccan and medieval Spanish architecture, the new designs, Casablanca and Marrakesh, will be joining Karndean’s Kaleidoscope range of bespoke flooring. These latest introductions have been inspired by the artistic techniques of traditional Moroccan architecture, brought to the Iberian Peninsula during the 8th century. The creative design is available in two subtle yet striking colourways and offers a modern interpretation of these iconic patterns. www.karndean.com

28 | Mix 194 May 2019

In this month’s Material Matters, the team of experts at Material Lab explore alternatives to traditional materials.

That’s Caffeine Inspired by the ideology of sustainability and the amount of coffee related waste, That’s Caffeine is a material made directly from coffee grounds. A product of award-winning industrial designer, Atticus Durnell, That’s Caffeine hopes to change people’s perceptions of waste. That’s Caffeine is a sustainable, biodegradable material based on used coffee grounds, which looks very similar to marble or granite. With the potential to replace many concrete and aggregate based materials, That’s Caffeine can be used for worksurfaces along with internal and external cladding. In addition, the material can also be formed into furniture, lighting and fittings. www.atticusdurnell.com

Spelk Created by multi-disciplinary designer, Orla Lawn, Spelk combines modern engineered materials with traditional techniques from textiles and woodwork.

Inspired by the luxurious marble veneers of early 20th century interiors, Spelk is a fresh take on decorative plywood panelling. Through this colourful handcrafted finishing technique, a common building material is transformed into an elegant and engaging surface finish. www.spelksurface.com

From striking monochrome designs to beautifully blended traditional patterns, our Heritage Collection features a 0.5mm wear layer, micro-bevelled edges and a choice of 12 colour variants.

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Upfront | Desert Island Desks

DESERT ISLAND DESKS

Claire Genner, Associate, Basha-Franklin

Claire is an Associate at Basha-Franklin, a forwardthinking commercial interior design practice that is passionate about bringing the best out of every design opportunity for its clients. Claire has been a key part of the team for the past five years and became Associate before she was 30. Last year she completed two outstanding projects for Brookfield Asset Management and Brookfield Properties, both within challenging timeframes and high expectations.

30 | Mix 194 May 2019

PODCASTS

VEGETABLE SEEDS

I don’t think I could live without podcasts, especially if I was stranded on a desert island. I love walking, so podcasts keep me company on long walks.

My current favourites include Woman’s Hour, The Teacher’s Pet, RHLSTP with Richard Herring and I guess I could binge on the 3,000+ episodes of Desert Island Disks!

Having just bought a house in south London, my boyfriend and I are starting out with our very first garden. Hopefully I can transfer some of those skills to the island. We are yet to see any vegetables grow, but we are hoping to have fresh veggies to get us through Brexit!

ARCHIE ROSE GIN AND FEVER TREE TONIC Well, if you’re going to be stuck on a desert island you may as well enjoy the beach with a good gin and tonic. Archie Rose gin is from my hometown, Sydney, so it should go perfectly with the sunshine!

A PET DOG I had a beautiful Border Collier dog growing up and I’ve wanted to get a dog for years. Unfortunately, designers' hours don’t always work that well for pets, so. seeing as I’ll have lots of time on the island. it’s the perfect time to have a puppy.

Tel 01925 850500 Email info@sixteen3.co.uk

KITCHENAID MIXER I’ve owned my bright yellow KitchenAid for over 10 years, and I wouldn’t want to give it up just because I’m on a desert island.

I love to bake, and it’s always added a nice pop of colour to any kitchen.

THE TATE GALLERY Can I take a whole gallery? I hope so. I love the Tate Gallery; we try and visit every couple of months or so and have seen so many amazing exhibitions there.

I can spend hours browsing the gift shop as well, and the rooftop bar is just an added bonus!

AN INFLATABLE UNICORN Who doesn’t want to float around the ocean on a giant unicorn? And I guess if I get lonely, I can start talking to it – like Wilson.

TRACKS FOR THE JUKEBOX: Nina Simone’s Version of the Beatles, ‘Here Comes the Sun’ – Nothing feels more summery that this song. It usually gets stuck in my head from about March onwards, as I wait for summer.

Jose Gonzalez – Nothing says tropical island to me more than this song.

The perfect soundtrack for a deserted island.

Bright Eyes, First Day of my Life – One of my favourite songs of all time. I can listen to it over and over again.

The Pogues, Love you ‘till the end – This is one of my boyfriend’s favourite songs to play on the guitar and it always reminds me of him.

Dusty Springfield, Son of a Preacher Man – The Pulp Fiction soundtrack was always on high rotation when hanging out with friends and this song takes me back to dancing around the kitchen of my first ever flat.

Valerie, Amy Winehouse – Well, everything’s better with a bit of Amy.

The Gallery 21-22 Great Sutton St. EC1V 0DY / Project Garden of St. James, EC1R 0EA

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Property | Insight

Above TOG Tintagel

BRANDING H

ave you got your tin hat ready? Your stockpile of tinned goods? You may need them, because anyone with skin in the UK office market is about to experience total war.

That’s because the branding skirmishes of the last 12 months are about to turn into all-out conflict.

British Land’s Space, Bruntwood’s Made & Managed, and Land Securities’ Myo are the latest brands gunning for flexible floorspace occupiers. They join WeWork, the daddy of flexible workspace brands, and a host of others, from newcomers like Work.Life through to established war horses Regus and The Office Group. All are using the power of their reputation

32 | Mix 194 May 2019

Prepare for all-out war as the UK office property market discovers the destructive (or creative) power of branding. David Thame reports from the front line.

and marketing departments to lever territory in a crowded and competitive office scene. Office design is at the core of branding efforts.

Branding is new to the office market. Until very recently nobody knew or cared who the landlord was. Their brand meant, literally, nothing – except to the handful of investors who watched their share price. And even the investors didn’t see British Land or Land Securities as a brand. They simply saw them as safe places to put cash.

Today couldn’t be more different. 'Branding is everything in today’s office market, and in it will end in a brand war,' predicts The Office Group Chief Executive, Charlie Green.

Branding is new to the office market. Until very recently nobody knew or cared who the landlord was

Property | Insight

Charlie is one of the pioneers of flexible workspace, with 32 London hubs and two outside London, representation in both Leeds and Bristol, and explosive ambitions to add 150,000 sq ft in a number of hubs in Birmingham.

'In our sector, the flexible office providers who understand branding will be the winners. But because we’ve moving from a market that has never seen any kind of branding – the product was basic – we will see a brand war developing.'

According to Charlie, whose own TOG brand is firmly associated with the coolest imaginable fit-outs and the best addresses, branding failures will probably come down to one thing: money.

'For success you need to be committed, authentic, creative, and you have to have sufficient investment because it all takes marketing and technology and strategic thinking.

In the end, the best resources will win.'

Charlie predicts that dowdy landlords unable to make the transition to the shiny new world of branding, and less dowdy landlords with very small portfolios, which do not easily lend themselves to brand propositions, will have to team up with people like him.

'How do you compete in the office market if you have just one building, or a handful of buildings, when branding is the issue? You will need to have a branding partnership with someone else.'

He says that branding will be the agent for a transformation of the office property market in which a small handful of occupiers (and landlords) opt for traditional leases, and an equally small handful opt for the total freedom of coworking. Everybody else will operate on a Dulux colour chart of flexibility, in which brands will be the tool for distinguishing one shade of flexibility from another.

Above Tintagel House

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Property | Insight

The property sector typically has a fairly staid approach, so breaking free from that to get noticed is a must

'That means more focus on engagement with operators, from both occupiers and landlords, which will be such an intensive operation that lots of operators won’t want to go there. The result will be partnerships between landlords and operators, and I think that could be the future.'

So how to get that crucial branding right?

Those who have explored property branding have some harsh words of warning for landlords.

Adam Rix, Creative Director of Music Agency, a branding consultancy that has tackled everything from electricity to office fit-outs, says a clever name and a nifty logo achieve very little on their own.

'The property sector typically has a fairly staid approach, so breaking free from that to get noticed is a must. Some still think the term refers to visual identity, or simply a logo. Branding can’t work miracles – the best brands are always borne

out of truth, so if the product or service isn’t up to scratch, then consumers are smart enough to see through it,' Adam says.

The important lesson is the same as Charlie Green’s: this is going to cost money. In particular, Adam warns that an office brand can’t survive if landlords adopt the (age old) practise of letting their office space to anybody prepared to pay for it. Instead, they need to carefully curate a mix that pleases occupiers and maintains the brand’s integrity.

'If all of the research and strategy points to the office building being ripe to focus on, say, the digital community, it’s important not to undo all your hard work by letting to the highest bidder and creating an environment that your target market don’t want to be a part of,' he says.

And of course landlords who spend a lot on their brand, and then strictly police the brand by selecting the right tenants, will want the right kind of office fit-out and design.

Grant Mitchell, Design Director with brand design experts, Glorious Creative, says that the branding offered to some individual office buildings – Manchester’s XYZ, No8 First Street or 100 Embankment get a hat-tip – show the way

Caption TOG Hamms

34 | Mix 194 May 2019

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Property | Insight

Caption TOG-Hamms

Audiences demand branded experiences and want to be part of something more than just a logo and bog-standard brochure

ahead for office landlords and operators. Grant has been advising early-stages coworking brand Workinc, a new venture from Leeds-based property business, Parklane Group.

Their answer was to sell the dynamism of coworking, rather than the deadness of desk space.

'Rather than simply selling ‘desk space’, we focused on creating coworking communities, placing Workinc at the forefront of the coworking ethos, that clearly communicates the advantages and benefits of working out of collaborative, stimulating and rewarding environments,' he says.

The first step might be to make your dull old office building a place where exciting things happen, and then build the brand on that.

'The days of branding being a conservative, formulaic add-on required by developers is over.

Audiences demand branded experiences and want to be part of something more than just a logo and bog-standard brochure,' Grant says with feeling.

Indeed, according to John Williams, Managing Director at interior design consultancy, SpaceInvader, the really smart brands think way beyond the confines of buildings.

'Consider the space beyond the office itself.

We see more and more landlords striking deals with third party operators to make wellbeing and leisure facilities part of their core brand offering, for example, by introducing gyms or restaurants.

But to make this truly effective, landlords also need to ensure that there is outstanding service behind these amenities, and ensure that an occupier’s experience of a building is truly seamless,' John advises.

The UK office market’s adventure in branding still has a long way to go. But the sound of battle is already audible: Space will try to knock spots off Myo, WeWork will launch its best weapons at The Office Group, and if you don’t like the idea of things getting nasty, you’d better get out now.w

Mix 194 May 2019 | 37

Property | Horse's Mouth

HINES VARIETIES

In the first of a new series of conversations with office property’s top people, Hines' Managing Director, Raj Rajput, tells it straight: office refurbishment is all about keeping rents up, especially if the competition is getting serious. David Thame reports.

I

t is a long way from Texas to Birmingham, but for Raj Rajput the connection is obvious. Hines, the Texas-based property empire, is rethinking its Birmingham portfolio. And there are lessons there for everyone, says Raj, Managing Director and Head of UK Asset Management.

Hines' portfolio, which includes 10 West end and City office blocks, as many more in West London, and another half dozen in the regions, is facing a common problem. And that is time.

Sooner or later time outruns us all, and it outruns office buildings faster than most things. Today’s funky office space is very rapidly transformed into tomorrow’s unsustainable wellbeing-damaging hulk, and even the best floorspace has to race to keep up with occupier trends.

So what to do about a 20-year-old office block? Raj says the answer is, to be honest, rethink and refurbish. The task of rethinking the 550,000 sq ft Brindleyplace estate in Birmingham begins with the 36,000 sq ft Oozells Building.

It comes ahead of a series of lease breaks and renewals, which will mean around 140,000 sq ft at Brindleyplace has its occupation in doubt.

'We have been talking to occupiers about how to reposition Brindleyplace, thinking not of some conventional refurbishment, but of something that will stand out,' says Raj. 'There’s a lot of talk about wellbeing and amenity, which we obviously need, but the repositioning needs thinking through. We mustn’t be formulaic.'

At the Oozells Building, the answer has been a series of carefully targeted interventions and, just as important, decisions to hold back.

'We looked at the reception area on the ground floor, which was a good, reasonable size but it

38 | Mix 194 May 2019

Caption: Oozells Building

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Property | Horse's Mouth

Caption Front of Oozells Building

had a whopping staircase on one side, using up about one-third of the space. So we spoke to the tenant, whose office was at the top of the staircase, and we moved it out of the reception area, to create a nice open seating space,' Raj says.

Hines also decided to take advantage of the office’s proximity to Birmingham’s musical landmarks, like the Conservatoire and Symphony Hall. 'We’ve created a green room, based on Birmingham’s musical history. So it’s a quirkier kind of breakout space. We’ve put amps in the wall so you can plug your phone into loudspeakers and play music. Obviously you can’t play it too loud,' he says, adding that it provides a different pace and a new atmosphere, which tenants can explore.

In all, it amounts to what Raj calls a 'softening of the edges.' But the Hines boss also insists that some things are best omitted, and that not every landlord needs to include them as a reflex.

'We thought long and hard about putting a minigym into the building, but there wasn’t enough

40 | Mix 194 May 2019

Today's funky office space is very rapidly transformed into tomorrow's unsustainable wellbeing-damaging hulk

space to do it properly and we realised there are plenty of gyms in the area, and if anyone wanted a gym they would go to one of those,' he says.

And here comes the bottom line. This £4m series of improvements and re-thinks is going to protect Hines’ rental income at a time when it is likely to come under severe pressure.

'We’ve a lot of lease events to manage out, and we have to keep Brindleyplace relevant in the light of big new speculative office developments in the city, like Hermes’ Paradise Circus and Ballymore’s Snowhill. We’re conscious that

Brindleyplace is 20 years old and maybe the image is a bit staid and corporate,' he says.

'Today our rents are in the late 20s – £28-29 a sq ft – and our aim is to move it beyond £30 a sq ft, because rivals like Snowhuill and Paradise Circus are already quoting £33-34 a sq ft. We like to think a gap of a few pounds between a really good refurbishment like ours, and new build, is about right,' he says.

The Hines calculation was based on the idea that the pipeline of new office development ran dry after the completion of Snowhill and Paradise, putting Brindleyplace refurbs in a strong position.

The announcement that Tristan Capital Partners is now funding the 224,000 sq ft, 26-storey office tower at 106 Colmore Row, slightly alters the sums. The 106 Colmore Row block will be completed in the first half of 2021.

Hines have to take a gamble: the £4m punt on the Oozells Building is relatively small in the context of their £90 billion overall portfolio under management. But it will surely feel like a big gamble if it doesn’t pay off by keeping rental levels up.w

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Property | Horse's Mouth

DATA DIGEST

DESPITE BREXIT 1.

Q1 2019 3.7m sq ft

City

50p

West End

10 year 3m sq ft average

50p

£71.00 /sq ft £107.50 /sq ft

Sec on

Q3 2016

3.

su and pply dh

4%

2.

69%

Q1 2019

13.6m sq ft

4.

Q4 2018

£

Q4 2018

2.7m sq ft

Secondhand floorspace helped numbers tick down 8 deals of >50,000 sq ft

5.

Q1 2019

= 508,000 sq ft

6.

Q1 2018 430,000 sq ft 7.

Q1 2019

42 | Mix 194 May 2019

Q1 2018 157,000 sq ft HMRC

CBRE data shows that London, the most exposed and sensitive office market, occupier interest increased sharply, with the amount of London office space under offer in the first quarter of 2019 up by 20% year-onyear to stand at 3.7m sq ft, representing a year-on-year increase. This is above the 10 year average of 3m sq ft, and also beat local 10 year averages in the City, West End and Docklands.

Prime rents increased in the City by £1.50 a sq ft to £71.00 a sq ft, and in the West End by £2.50 a sq ft to £107.50 a sq ft As you would expect, if more space is going under offer, the volume of available floorspace fell after two quarters of increases. Availability fell by 4% in Q1 2019 to 13.6m sq ft, the lowest level since Q3 2016. A sudden appetite for secondhand floorspace helped the numbers tick down.

Yet, despite the fall in secondhand availability, secondhand space is dominating supply, accounting for 69% of all availability across central London, unchanged from the previous quarter.

And now the bad news! Although Q1 2019 was respectable, it wasn't anything like as good as Q4 2018. Take-up in Central London fell by 34% from the heightened levels seen in Q4 2018 down to 2.7m sq ft in the first quarter of 2019. Take-up for the quarter was led by eight deals over 50,000 sq ft, the largest of which saw Sony Music pre-let 124,600 sq ft at Building S1, Handyside Street in Kings Cross.

There was fairly good news too from the big regional office markets. Data from the Manchester Office Agents Forum shows Manchester's combined city centre, business park and docklands markets turned in take-up of 508,000 sq ft.

The Q1 take-up figures for Manchester's busy city centre office market revealed a 23% fall compared to the 430,000 sq ft recorded in Q1 2018. But if you discount the 157,000 sq ft HMRC letting that distorted the early months of 2018, then the city centre performed well.

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SPOTLIGHT

47

THE BIG Q UESTIO N Can you offer our 30 under 30, class of 2019, career advice by saying one thing you would have done differently ?

Mix 194 May 2019 | 45

www.morganfurniture.co.uk

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Spotlight | The Big Question

C a n y o u o f f e r o u r 30 u n d e r 30, c l a ss o f 2019, c a re e r a d v i c e b y s a y i n g o n e t h i n g y o u w o u l d h a v e d o n e d i f f e re n t l y

BRONTE TURNER, MANAGING DIRECTOR, HLW LONDON

MARK ALCORN, MANAGING DIRECTOR, C2:CONCEPTS

ELENA PANAGIOTIDIS, SENIOR ASSOCIATE, PERKINS+WILL

I wish that I had really realised and appreciated the freedom that being 20-something actually gives you – in life and in your career. If I was 25 now I would have used ALL my holiday to explore even more of the world (and take the time to appreciate it). I would take more risks in my work, designs and planning my future, and I would realise not to rush into the next phase of my life and career, which may bring less freedom but as much fun, challenges and enjoyment!

Tricky question that! Two things come to mind; I shouldn’t have worn the loud trouser-braces in the late 80’s – but that was retail for you. I loved my spell at Addison and actually I should have spent longer in that area of design but it’s amazing watching retail, leisure and workplace design merging and mutually influencing each other today. The second thing: I should have kicked-off c2 concepts a few years earlier as time and tide wait for no man.

This is a fickle industry and can be tiring and heavy on the soul. Find what excites you and pursue that, enjoy your work and keep learning from your peers. I wouldn’t change anything I have done, but I always look at things from a fresh perspective and the moment this feels like a ‘job’ I will walk away. Design is a passion – have fun.

KRISTOFF DUBOSE, FOUNDER, CIRKULARIS8

WAYNE TAYLOR, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, SPACE ZERO

TIM VERRAN, AUDIO VISUAL SPECIALIST, VISAVVI

It’s a demanding career. But there’s nothing like living inside your imagination, seeing that dream become reality. There’s one place where the magic really happens. And that place is in your ability to listen. I came into this path headstrong and I really wish I had listened more to those around me. If you’re smart, be sure you’re not the smartest one in the room and surround yourself with brilliance.

If you want to grow your business, build a quality team around you as early as possible – don’t ever skimp when investing in your people.

It may seem painful and a lot of money at the time, but you can’t afford not to. Quality people pay for themselves many times over and allow you the time and headspace you need to run and develop the business.

One element that kept me in a good place both professionally and personally was integrity, which has that old quote, 'Will you sleep well at night knowing….' This often brought good fortune, because you are comfortable in how you conduct yourself either when specifying product/services or buying the round at the pub. People trusted that you were doing the right thing. Integrity then brings other things, like having the right balance in dayto-day activities; work when you are meant to and give time to your personal life. If you stay consistent with the right balance, you will be satisfied in your performance, with time to smell the roses.

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Spotlight | 30 under 30

When we’re asked what our favourite Mix features are, the 30 under 30 - our annual celebration of the interior design market’s young, emerging talent – is right at the top. Our 30 under 30 is now seen as a serious accolade – and we couldn’t be prouder of that. So, without further ado, let us introduce you to 2019’s rising stars.

ASHLEIGH BIGGINS Ashleigh joined Denton in November 2018 as a Senior Interior Designer. In a short period, Ashleigh has made a significant and positive impact on the business and has firmly established herself as a major contributor to the growth of Denton in the north, particularly Manchester, with Park Group a notable recent win. Offering an extensive and broadened experience within the Design & Build industry, Ashleigh’s role focuses on winning work and developing the brief an d design concept directly with the client. Ashleigh offers added value in everything she turns her hand to, ensuring the scope and design is aligned with client expectation and costs, all through industry-leading workplace design solutions. Ashleigh’s greatest strengths are her humility and commitment, striving for the best outcome for the client. A future leader, Ashleigh displays an aptitude that exceeds her youth and is an asset every business strives for.

Mehdi joined Perkins+Will as a graduate of interior architecture at the University of Westminster. He stood out at his degree show with beautiful large-scale colourful sketches. With his conceptual abilities, clarity of thought and sensitive approach to design, he has become a valued member of our studio. He recently designed the interiors for a Fintech company in Budapest, which won the Hungarian ‘Office of the Year’. Mehdi is passionate about all areas of design. He has worked on the interior elements of a hospital in the Middle East, next generation coworking spaces in Milan, a guest experience of the future for a professional services firm in London and, most recently, a unique and elegant staircase for one of our financial clients.

We have loved seeing Mehdi grow in confidence and hone his skills with us over the last four years. He’s definitely one to watch!

MEGAN CHANDLER Megan is an inspirational and highly motivated designer. After initially starting at HOK as a work placement, it was clear that Megan had a flair and passion for interior design. Completing her degree at The Sir John Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design in 2017, she decided to return to the HOK family to embark on her career. She initially began her journey within the healthcare sector, and has more recently been working on fit-outs for large consultancy clients, such as Gartner, and global financial giants, such as KPMG. Megan has the ability to work throughout various stages of a project, including concept design, FF&E, presentations and the delivery, from beginning to conclusion. Megan develops key relationships with her clients by listening to their ideas and also understanding what their aspirations are, whilst working with them through every stage of the project to deliver solutions in a fun and creative way.

48 | Mix 194 May 2019

MEHDI JELOKHANI

In association with:

Spotlight | 30 under 30

JOANNA WARDA

CHARLOTTE BRADNEY

Joanna is a creative young designer who thrives in all elements of the design process from developing imaginative concept ideas, to creating thoughtfully detailed design elements. Having joined Scott Brownrigg in 2018 she always finds time to support her colleagues and has quickly become an integral part of the Interiors team, respected by other designers and client alike. Specialising in workplace design, her recent work includes Thomson Reuters, NCR, Expedia and new designs for Refinitiv’s first ever HQ in London.

She has also been intrinsic in creating an exciting new workplace concept installation ‘Unboxed’ at Orangebox’s showroom for Clerkenwell Design Week.

A key strength is Joanna’s all-round ability is her dedication to coming up with innovative interiors to suit a wide range of client ambitions, with an end goal to design an environment to be proud of.

Since Charlotte joined Peldon Rose, she has made a massive impact on the design team. She has helped to push our design team forward with her creativity, inventive solutions and innate ability to engage with clients. Peldon Rose avoid working to a house style, so each of their designs possesses a unique quality that is specific to the requirements of each client. Charlotte embodies our approach and is capable of working across all sectors, creating edgy interiors for the likes of GoCardless and The Good Agency, as well as producing sophisticated, thoughtful interiors for fashion brands like Whistles and Hobbs.

Charlotte has been the driving force behind the design of our own office refurbishment in Wimbledon.

She has designed a forward-thinking space, which will allow our teams to work closer and continue to create award-winning interiors for years to come.

RUBEN LOPEZ Ruben Lopez always says that the only job he can do in life is design. Even when he is not working he is with his notebook sketching his projects. A humble and open-minded designer, Ruben always tries to adapt to the client and team he works with.

He also strives for perfection, learning from each project and improving his skills. A genuine lover of details, Ruben stands out due to his diligence and dedication to his work.

Currently, Ruben is working on a high-profile campus project in Switzerland. Having been a part of this project since the initial pitch, he has been an integral member of the team. Ruben is proud to be a part of an incredible team that continues to create amazing work. He calls this '30 under 30' honour one of the happiest moments of his life.

MARIA FRAMIS Maria is a passionate designer and a visionary with a keen eye for detail. She combines the unique ability to articulate strong design concepts with the ability to bring truly innovative ideas to life to develop meticulously detailed and compelling architecture. A natural leader and a trusted advisor to her clients, her unfaltering determination to follow through on the many high profile projects she’s led – from Estee Lauder’s 50,000 sq ft EMEA headquarters in Paris, to Microsoft’s first European Accelerator Hub in London – has inspired many at Gensler and beyond. Maria is also a fantastic mentor and will always take the time to stop and explain her design ideas to junior and senior colleagues within her team, no matter the timeline pressure. Maria is described as a true designer. She has the natural ability to understand what is truly important on a project to create spaces that are powerful and memorable.

Mix 194 May 2019 | 49

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creating better environments

Spotlight | 30 under 30

PALOMA GARCIA-PEMAN Paloma joined LOM architecture and design in early 2018 and has already established a key role in our interior architecture team, developing everything from concept sketches through to complex technical details. With architectural training in France and Spain and experience in residential, hospitality and commercial interiors, Paloma has been able to take on a wide range of different projects with ease. Over the past year she has helped deliver a conference centre in the City of London, created the concept for Oracle’s wellness centre in Paris and designed a new lounge space at Kuwait Airport. Her key piece of work this year has been NatWest’s new collaborative working hub, where Paloma played an important role in creating the interior design vision and delivering it through a mix of bespoke joinery, carefully specified workplace furniture and beautiful environmental graphics.

AMY CARRICK Amy is one of HASSELL’s most well travelled and sought-after designers, having honed her skills across studios in Australia, Singapore and now the UK. Her peopleorientated approach brings a highly considered and conscientious bent to each new project. This attention to detail is applied from the earliest stages of concept development, right through to on site realisation of projects. Her open and direct communication style has seen her develop deep and trusted relationships with clients and design team members alike. Amy has been a key member of award-winning teams across the workplace, hospitality and higher education sectors, and she is currently working with one of the world’s leading tech brands as they look to expand their presence across Europe.

DAVID HARTE David has a broad range of experience within the hospitality sector, working for large multinational and independent hotel groups in the UK and internationally on all aspects of the design process, from concept to construction. Recent projects include Hotel du Vin, Stratford-Upon-Avon, and Hyatt Place Heathrow Airport. He is currently working on luxury hotel projects in the UK and Dubai and a coworking brand in Kenya.

David established a proven ability to deliver projects in the UK early in his career. His meticulous attention to detail, commercial outlook and ability to nurture client relationships are unusual in a designer of his age.

HELENA MASAT

In association with

Helena began her career in design with Modus straight from university. Her conscientiousness, detail focused approach, personality and thirst to learn and grow have earned her an esteemed reputation within the industry. Now an Intermediate Designer, Helena has successfully run projects from concept to completion for global brands in travel, media, commercial, hospitality and fashion sectors. Most recently, her achievements include the five-level multi-million-pound project for Maslow's at Mortimer House and Studio 19 for beauty powerhouse, SLG Brands. An undeniable passion, creativity and fresh perspective are what sets her apart, as well as her meticulous approach and diligence, consistently delivering above and beyond expectations. Her gentle nature, eagerness to lend a hand and push boundaries means she dives into any challenge put in front of her. Helena builds influential relationships with her clients, constantly learning, evolving and ultimately making her the designer she is today.

Mix 194 May 2019 | 51

Spotlight | 30 under 30

NASIM KÖERTING

In association with

Nasim is an interior architect/designer originally from Sydney, Australia, who is currently running her own London-based design studio. Her inspiration derives from a variety of sources, including her heritage and contemporary art, design and architecture. She has been running awardwining projects for design studios, including HASSELL and Softroom, for many years now. She began her own studio alongside her partner Jan over two years ago. They have been working on a range of projects, from private residential clients to large-scale commercial corporations. She is currently working on projects with Nike, Harbour Space University and Hawstone Hall Hotels. Aside from day-to-day project work, Nasim has been contributing to the Financial Times’ ‘House and Home’. She is also currently designing a rug collection with Totzke flooring, with proceeds of every rug sold going back to the education of the local women in the Indian community where the rug is manufactured.

EMILY FIDDES When IA first met Emily in September 2017, she immediately impressed with the confidence and passion she projected in presenting her master's thesis – A Creative Incubator and Microbrewery; Finding Similarities Between the Brewing and Design Process.

Building on her final dissertation on environmental psychology, Emily designs from the inside out, considering the psychology of spaces and how human behaviour affects design. She has become an indispensable member of the IA London family and stands out on many levels. Less than one year after Emily expanded her career into workplace interior design, what especially impressed was the extremely positive feedback on her design and presentation skills from a demanding and educated client with whom we are working.

Her clients include a leading global online retailer, with whom she is working on projects in Madrid, Bratislava, and Paris. She is also designing for MasterCard and conducting workplace strategy for Ireland’s national radio and television broadcaster.

PAM D'ALESSANDRO

hlw

Pam is an exceptional team player and an all-round great colleague to have around the studio. She has developed exceptional REVIT skills that support the way she communicates her innovative approach to design. Over the last year, Pam has been integral to designing and delivering really diverse projects for Google, The Health Foundation and SAP. We look forward to seeing Pam’s development in the future. Pam brings a fantastic balance of great design, great commitment and great personality to both our clients and our studio.

52 | Mix 194 May 2019

JAMES HALLIDAY James Halliday joined Squire & Partners in 2013 and became an associate in 2017. He is a talented all-round designer who leads a team of five people on multiple projects with seeming ease. James is multitalented and flexible – from creating concepts, detailed design and producing killer sketches, to specifying materials and FFE. James’ balance of dedication and hard work, and an easy-going nature makes him the ideal colleague to work with. James is quick to understand the task at hand and assesses the most expedient method of delivery.

Most recently, he has delivered Ministry of Sound’s first social workspace and private members’ club at The Ministry, in Borough.

He is currently working on Haggerston Baths, a new coworking space in derelict, listed baths; an office refurbishment at 78 St James; a new headquarters at Whitfield Street for Elliot Wood Engineers; and Sogex Villa in Oman.

NEW PRODUCTS. NEW IDEAS. KI’s new storage, workstations and seating will be launched at #CDW2019.

See them first at KI’s popup showroom in the heart of Clerkenwell.

KI House, 8-9 Clerkenwell Green, London EC1R 0DE 21-23 May 2019 | www.kieurope.com/cdw2019

KI House at

Spotlight | 30 under 30

GABRIELLE KENNETT

JEMIMA OLIVER

Gabrielle Kennett is an ambitious, driven designer with a background in retail design such as Footlocker’s flagship store in Marble Arch and the Guildford Hummingbird Bakery. Very much focused on working through the detail to create innovative and inspiring designs, Gabi joined the Egham design team in 2018 looking to get a taste of the workplace sector. She uses her understanding of creative, but practical, spaces to challenge the brief and consider the way clients interact within environments. Gabi is one to watch, with a healthy competitive streak in and out of work taking part in charity activities such as this year’s triathlon team as well as being crowned the Area Bake off Queen!

Jemima was first introduced to HLM whilst completing a placement when studying at Plymouth University.

The following year, with her studies completed, Jemima joined HLM full time. Since joining the HLM interior team, Jemima’s commitment to social architecture and sustainability, along with a passion for delivering really great work and a vibrant outlook, has been an incredible asset to HLM’s Cardiff studio,

Creating breathtaking interiors requires intelligent design, and at the heart of any interior experience is exceptional lighting.

Tel 01727 836 695 Email sales@mountlighting.co.uk

with a portfolio that now covers hospitality, workplace, education and defence. Having recently developed a concept scheme for IHG, delivering Wales’ first Staybridge Suite property for the brand, Jemima is currently delivering a tender submission for a high-end meeting suite within Canary Wharf’s 20 Canada Place. Never sidestepping a challenge and always looking for ways to develop HLM’s interior design offering, Jemima is certainly one to watch.

www.mountlighting.co.uk

Spotlight | 30 under 30

PETER VRAHIMIS Peter is a vital member of our firm and has been instrumental in both the early stages and throughout some of the biggest projects in our studio (such as 100 Bishopsgate, Brookfield Place Calgary, and the S4 Building at the International Quarter). He is a talented designer, a great mentor and leader, and a kind and compassionate colleague. He is a real asset to our practice and truly beyond his years. Peter’s unparalleled commitment to our business and his dedication to the success of the firm is nothing short of astounding. He is always the glue keeping everybody together and on track, even under immense pressure. Peter has been with us almost since we founded the company in the UK six years ago and he has learned so much and continued to develop professionally over this time.

STEVIE LEIGH It has been a delight working with Stevie over the past two years. She has quickly become a highly valued member of our interior and architectural teams and her talent to combine conceptual thinking with the ability to deliver successful projects is an asset to the company. As an integral member of the team, Stevie helped to deliver the National Horizons Centre for Teesside University. She was key to the design and refurbishment of several MUFC first team facilities, along with the creation of a VIP lounge at the Carrington site. Stevie also completed a successful re-design of the reception area at No.3 Piccadilly Place and is currently bringing her creative flair to two laboratory buildings that are being refurbished for Bruntwood at Alderley Park.

In association with

SARAH DAVIES Sarah joined our M Moser London team in 2018 and has since been working on one of our most high profile and technically challenging projects. She is an enthusiastic and creative designer who has a keen eye for detail. Her conscientious and diligent approach means she has gained huge amounts of trust and respect from both clients and colleagues. She is a joy to work with and we look forward to seeing how her continued growth and becoming a leader within the industry.

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Collective In association with:

Mix Design Collective In association with:

Back for 2019 - Bigger & Better Three days of immersive commercial interior design showcasing: • Workplace • Hospitality • Residential Witness cutting edge products within amazing design-led experiences curated by leading international A&D practices

Engage | Educate | Experience Register your interest as a delegate, designer or product partner

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PART OF MIX WEEK MANCHESTER | 3-5 DECEMBER 2019 | HILTON DEANSGATE MANCHESTER

Spotlight | 30 under 30

NINA HUGHES In association with

Nina has been with Basha-Franklin for only the past six months, however, she has proven to be a fantastic addition to the team with very impressive results on the work she has been producing. Nina has been working on several projects throughout Europe and Scandinavia for RBS, plus a dynamic coworking project. Her sharp eye for colour, texture and form has strongly connected to our client’s culture and brand but with a fresh and directional approach. What sets Nina apart is her strong emotional intelligence, which can quickly connect with our client, project and team needs. She’s a natural leader who has been very proactive with managing and mentoring junior staff, ensuring they reach their full potential. Nina’s middle name is Joy and that is a true definition of who she is as a person. Consistently upbeat and optimistic, she creates an endless source of joy and positivity in the studio.

ZOE PARR

JULIA SANCHEZ- STYLES A dedicated and proactive designer, Julia joined AECOM in 2017, following the completion of her Honours Degree at the Glasgow School of Art and École Camondo in Paris. In a short timeframe, she has gained fantastic experience, working on exciting large-scale projects from concept stage through to completion.

Her ability as an all-rounder to move between roles and responsibilities makes her an outstanding young designer who is actively ‘sought out’ by seniors to work with them as a key team member. She has a hunger to learn and grow within the design industry, showing a keen interest in the conceptual approach to design and the way that innovative user experiences can translate into exciting and functional spaces, in any sector.

Her enthusiasm and natural ‘can-do’ attitude separate her from the rest of the designers at her level, making her a confident and ambitious young leader.

Known in the company as someone who exudes creativity, Zoe has been instrumental in producing the creative solutions to win multi-million-pound projects. Zoe joined Interaction in 2014 through its university partnership, as an intern in her placement year, giving her the knowledge to achieve first class honours in interior design. Making the most of every opportunity, Zoe has risen to become a lead designer only a few years after graduating. From designing a Troninspired office with its own Cray super computer replica, to transforming a 1930’s tool factory into an open coworking hub, Zoe’s creative mind has no boundaries. When asked, ‘What’s the best thing about working at Interaction?’ Zoe responded with: ‘Being surrounded by creative, motivated and fun people, whilst having freedom and opportunity to design bespoke and unique workspaces.’ With Zoe’s depth of knowledge and passion for design, it is clear she is a rising star.

SARAH BEWERS Sarah’s career began in change management and consultancy but she always felt her calling was in design.

After a decade of toying with the idea, she took the bold step to retrain. After she approached ThirdWay, the Design Director immediately recognised Sarah’s talent – and she’s spent the last 18 months working on a myriad of projects, ranging from a small but perfectly formed workspace for Langholm Capital through to a 12,000 sq ft Cat A space for a significant developer. Her favourite project is also her most recent – Kew Media’s HQ in Soho – which has a heavy focus on biophilia and wellness. Sarah believes that her career change was the best decision she’s ever made. ‘The beginning of a new project, where anything is possible, is the most exciting time, but the most satisfying part of my job is the tangible and physical outcome of creating something,’ she enthuses.

Mix 194 May 2019 | 57

Spotlight | 30 under 30

FAITH PITTOCK

In association with

Faith has a very infectious and honest smile that can instantly change your mood. She always comes across extremely well, radiates warmth and openness, paralleled with a sharp and shrewd mind, which allows her to handle any situation well.

Always a real team player, Faith is quite often one of the first people to volunteer for charity events and encourage the rest of the team to follow. Faith has amassed a wealth of knowledge within a creative industry – and she has done this by asking questions of the right people at the right time. Starting as a junior designer, she quickly developed to running her own project with confidence and hard work. Her attention to detail and dedication has led to her working on fantastic projects for GreenOak Real Estate, Adidas, and Grosvenor Estates. Faith develops unique and elegant designs that create a balance between the clients’ brief, environment and careful consideration for future growth.

ELLEN FEHL Ellen has come a long way in workplace design – this is clear to all who work with her. Originally from Michigan, Ellen started her design journey in Detroit at an architectural firm, before transferring to the UK in 2014.

She joined LTB, once a subsidiary company of Vensyn Group, where she helped to design over 222,000 sq ft of world-class coworking space in a year and a half. In 2017, Ellen transferred to Oktra, where she has matured as a designer incredibly quickly, transforming herself using a comprehensive knowledge of materials and coworking environments from her experience developing WeWork projects. With a keen eye for detail and avid listening skills, she finds a refreshing balance between fun and professionalism, drawing inspiration from her team. As a result of her hard work and loyalty, Ellen will now be leading the design for the firm’s new business unit later this year.

TUT ZHU Tut first worked at BDP whilst studying for her MA at the RCA. She settled in remarkably quickly, working on a complex retail project in Moscow, impressing colleagues with her dedication, CAD skills and 3D abilities. After graduation, Tut joined BDP permanently and quickly became invaluable, completing the retail scheme, applying great patience, technical skills and creativity. Tut has since worked on numerous retail developments in the UK, Toronto and Germany.

She has seamlessly crossed over to BDP’s workplace team, becoming a key designer on PwC work, tackling everything from creative pitches, to concept design, detailed design, FF&E specification and planning, on a variety of projects. Tut rapidly developed her knowledge and skills within this sector and brought fresh ideas and creative solutions. Her pragmatic approach and adaptability have strengthened this fast-paced team; designs are visually strong, helping clients to fully understand the vision.

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LIZ DURCAN Liz is a passionate and committed member of the AEW family, since joining in 2017.

Impressing with her drive and enthusiasm, delivering multiple high-level schemes, Liz has worked on fast-paced rollouts for global companies, taking on full project lead roles with direct engagement with our clients. She displayed her full set of design skills across multiple disciplines, with equal attention to current trends and focus on the end user experience. Her experience within the commercial office sector has proven a strong asset, designing fresh and innovative proposals. Most recently, Liz has led the design for a new amenity pod unit, taking on the challenge of designing the external aesthetics alongside the interior environment using her skills in REVIT with fantastic success and praise from the client. She has an exciting time ahead of her, continuing work on varying sector projects across the UK.

Leading UK furniture manufacturer

KAYLEIGH TSE Kayleigh graduated from Ravensbourne seven years ago and has been a relentless force ever since. She first became known to us when she was working as a junior designer six years ago. Even then she showed a great understanding of design and had a remarkable ability to produce a great deal of work at speed.

At Cirkularis8, she is now a Senior Designer, training up our juniors while also designing a 50,000 sq ft project for major San Francisco tech firm, Splunk. The clients have remarked that her work is the fastest and most complete they’ve ever had worldwide. They are also excited by the possibilities she’s opened up to them through the design process – and they are already talking about this London project being a global showpiece. Kayleigh may be under 30, but has already built a reputation as a world-class designer that’s in equal measure creative and practical.

AMIE BOSSON Anyone lucky enough to work with Amie will not only be inspired by her passion and meticulous approach to design, they will also have the best time, due to her infectious, cheeky humour. Amie shone from the moment she walked in the door, and it would be impossible not to have noticed the growth in her confidence and creative capabilities since. Driven by more than what is directly in front of her, Amie is a natural problem solver. She always aims for better, and actively goes above and beyond to improve things for the wider team. Clients love her due to her ability to build honest, open relationships and, to quote a colleague, ‘She’s an off-thecharts team player!’ Amie previously ran a high profile 60,000 sq ft project with ease and, most recently, took on her first lead role for a large-scale blue chip client, where her calming, humble leadership style really began to shine.

t 01685 352222

sales@triumphfurniture.com

www.triumphfurniture.com

Case Study | Pukka Herbs

THIS PAGE: Island of Tranquility

W

e’ve travelled to Keynsham (situated almost equidistantly between Bath and Bristol) to look at the new working home of Pukka Herbs – the leading organic teas and food supplements producer.

The new home of the herbal wellbeing company is on the 3rd floor of The Chocolate Factory – part of an amazing regeneration of the original Cadbury’s campus.

Pukka Herbs is a global producer of organic teas and supplements with a passion for working with nature’s finest ethically sourced herbs and an inspiring and wellbeing orientated brand.

The company’s organic herbal teas, lattes and wellbeing supplements are now sold in over 40 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North, South and Central America. Last year, more than 500 million colourful cups of organic tea were drunk across the world! That’s a lot of brews!

The journey to create these delicious teas (and they are delicious, despite the fact that we can’t even pronounce the rejuvenating brew we’re kindly been given) starts with the highest-quality organic herbs, rich in natural oils, carefully and ethically sourced from over 50 countries across the world.

When the Pukka team decided to relocate its UK-based headquarters to accommodate further growth, Claremont was called on to epitomise the brand’s affinity with nature in a dynamic, vibrant and flexible workspace.

Walking into the open, welcoming heart of the new space, we find Pukka Herbs’ Office Manager, Tammey Cross, and Pippa Davie, Claremont’s Associate Director, Design, waiting for us. While we take a seat and enjoy our tea, our hosts tell us about the background to the scheme – and, indeed, the history of the business.

‘Pukka is now 17 years old – we’re a Bristol-born business,’ Tammey tells us. ‘We have two founders – Sebastian and Tim – and Tim wanted to do something different and something better for the planet. He put an advert out there for someone to join him in creating a new, ethical business – and

Pukka Up We might have had (for us at least) a relatively early start and lengthy journey, but we can be absolutely sure of one thing when we reach our destination – we’re going to enjoy a really good cup of tea.

Mix 194 May 2019 | 61

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Case Study | Pukka Herbs

CAPTION: Workspace with biophilic elements and upcycled desks

Sebastian was the only person who applied! So are great connections – and especially cycling they started making tea together in a spare room at and sustainable travel options. The move has Sebastian’s house and then got a small warehouse lengthened some people’s journey, but it has also building in Bristol. The business grew considerably shortened other journeys. We weren’t in central and at one point had four sites in and around Bristol.

Bristol anyway, so this is a bit further out but has It was always the goal to have a single home – a opened up new prospective attraction from Bath..’ sustainable office where all of us could grow as a The relocation to Keynsham is clearly as much business and continue the Pukka journey.’ an environmental shift for Pukka’s people as it is ‘It took a long time to find the right building,’ a physical move. ‘One of the original sites was Pippa recalls. ‘We won the job pitching for a a former warehouse, with small rooms and little different building – natural light,’ Pippa reveals. again in Bristol. That ‘Then one of the temporary fell through for various buildings that Pukka The brief was always the reasons. We looked moved into over the four at various alternative same. It was all about colour years was being knocked buildings – we looked down for residential – so and it was all about the at all sorts of buildings the landlord didn’t want to – and it took the best do anything with it.’

Pukka way part of four years ‘The space didn't before actually moving reflect our values or our into this building. So personality and we didn't we’ve got to know feel very proud to show Pukka pretty well over that time. people around,’ Tammey takes over. ‘When we had ‘This building came up quite early in the search meetings we either went outside or we’d go to our but they thought it was going to be too far down clients. That has completely flipped since we’ve the line before it was ready because they were been here. This is so different – it really is fabulous. doing the entire site. So because it took so long We now have people who want to borrow our and other buildings kept falling through, it came space or host meetings or training events here!’ back up again.

Claremont’s brief was to bring the Pukka ‘This is a 17,200 sq ft single floorplate – and brand to life and create open plan, flexible and you don’t find too many of them in and around inspirational work settings for its 130-strong team. this area. The beauty of being here is that there With a clear focus on employee wellbeing and

Project Team Client Pukka Herbs Architecture & Interior Design Claremont Furniture Provider Claremont Flooring Suppliers Desso, Forbo Flooring Surfaces Suppliers Artworks Furniture Suppliers Frovi, Pledge, Boss, Triumph, orangebox, Protocol Storage Suppliers Triumph and Spacestor Other Suppliers Autex

Mix 194 May 2019 | 63

Case Study | Pukka Herbs

biophilic design, it was also necessary to include a combination of restorative, relaxing and playful spaces while embodying the brand’s ‘come alive’ positioning.

Sustainability is, of course, at the heart of much of what has been achieved here. It was important to Pukka to work, wherever possible, with local firms and Bristol-based Claremont ensured that local suppliers and contractors were also brought on board.

We ask Pippa what the greatest challenges were for the team – other than finding the right space in the first place. ‘Working with the Cat A was a challenge – because the building was being fitted out at the same time as we were doing our fit-out and Pukka were the first tenants here,’ Pippa tells us. ‘There was a real overlap, so we had to coordinate with the main contractor. It did mean that they could do certain amendments to the M&E to suit our layouts – and it did work out well in the end.’

‘For us, the biggest challenge was the timing – it was literally down to the wire because of the renovation that was due on the building that we were in,’ Tammey recalls. ‘In the end, it was perfect – we literally moved out on the same day as they brought their team in!’

‘From a design perspective, there weren’t too many challenges,’ Pippa continues. ‘We had worked with them for so long that we knew them and knew what they wanted for the space. The brief was always the same. It was all about colour and it was all about the Pukka way.

‘It’s all about the colours you find in nature, with biophilia at the heart of everything. The fabrics are either natural or recycled, the carpets have all got great sustainable programmes behind them and the furniture is all manufactured in the UK, while we have upcycled some of the existing furniture – such as the frames for the workstations.’

The results speak for themselves. Bright and colourful throughout, Claremont has created a truly on-brand workspace for Pukka, making this new home the very embodiment of its nature-inspired values and employee-minded ethos.

The strong nature-themed and biophilic elements included planters, hanging plants, a living moss wall, artificial trees and nature-themed artwork to really tie the office with the building’s views of green fields and the River Avon.

The design of the open space sees guests and employees enter a large communal space, complete with smart soft seating, a central teapoint and a creative ‘Island of Tranquility’ wooden pod.

BELOW: Kitchen and social space with planting and acoustic rafts

Case Study | Pukka Herbs

LEFT: Meeting space with folding wall and flexible upcycled furniture BELOW: Project and collaboration space with write-on walls BOTTOM: Bespoke splashback tiles with teabox designs and matching caddies

The Client Founded by Tim Westwell and Sebastian Pole, Pukka Herbs has been in business since 2001.

Pukka Herb’s organic herbal teas, lattes and wellbeing supplements are now sold in over 40 countries in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and North, South and Central America.

Pukka works with thousands of Pukka growers in over 20 different countries around the world.

Mix 194 May 2019 | 65

Billo.

20 Old Street Clerkenwell EC1V 9AB www.oceedesign.com @OceeDesign

Case Study | Pukka Herbs

CAPTION: Workspace with biophilic elements and upcycled desks

This is so different – it really is fabulous. We now have people who want to borrow our space or host meetings or training events here!

This area is flanked by banks of ‘think’ and ‘phone’ pods for quiet and lone working as well as six meeting rooms, one of which can be opened up via a folding wall to create a larger space.

In addition to the open plan workspaces, the office features a Heart of Pukka room – designed for meditation and group contemplation, a Retreat Room for mindfulness and calm and a project space for brainstorming, complete with write-on walls. At the opposite end of the floorplate, a large gathering space doubles up for employee yoga sessions and company meetings.

The Heart of Pukka room, which is completely technology-free, features a beautiful, large-scale Indian rug (we later find a second, equally ornate and beautiful rug in the other wing of the space) and a series of mindfulness quotes and sayings (called Wisdom Seeds by Pukka), which might be in a slightly different language than we’re used to in the corporate world, but are actually grounded in common sense and are the business' values.

‘When you ask about the biggest challenges, getting the rugs up the stairs was maybe the

hardest thing! It took about 10 of us,’ Tammey tells us.

This area links with a kitchen, which has a large central island and is suited for informal meetings, communal lunches and team relaxation.

Some bespoke and unusual Pukka details have been incorporated into the design detail too – including tree trunk columns for visual interest, the use of gold finishes on selected wall manifestations, colourful tea-box-printed tiles for kitchen splashbacks and unique door handles in the kitchen.

Pukka’s extensive and visually appealing product range – which includes no less than 42 different teas – takes pride of place in a customdesigned laboratory for testing and tasting.

Employees and guests can watch expert tea tastings through a large viewing window.

42 teas! If they’re all as good as the new Pukka space, this business will undoubtedly continue to flourish. What’s really great is that it is doing so in such a caring, responsible way. w

Mix 194 May 2019 | 67

Case Study | Exchange Quay

ICE Breaker We’ve come to Salford’s Exchange Quay (for those familiar with the area, you can’t have failed to notice it, seeing as it has a giant orange arrow literally pointing it out on the adjacent roundabout) to look at the reworking of Building 3. There is, however, one slight problem.

A

This Page: First floor social coworking lounge

s we walk through this eclectic collection of workplace buildings, we can see just about every number other than ‘3’. Thankfully, before we start to question our own sanity, we do spot Rachel Withey from architects and designers 74, who is stood in front of an unnumbered building, busily texting someone (that would be us!).

Rachel’s text says that Building 3 is no longer called Building 3, but is now known simply as ICE. Fortunately, by way of explanation – and also to put this project into context – Rachel walks us beyond ICE and on to Building 7, which is next door but one.

Incidentally, Tom Bloxham’s yellow and black Urban Splash HQ – Boat Shed – sits directly opposite.

Building 7 is pretty much the twin building of (the building formerly known as) 3, and we can immediately see, by comparing the exterior of the two 90s buildings, that a little exterior facelift goes a very long way. Looking back at ICE, we can see that the start of this dramatic transformation is actually a relatively simple removal of the awning, which is now replaced by a dramatic bright blue square arch and fresh ICE branding. Like we said, relatively simple but incredibly effective and transformative.

‘Looking at this sister-space really did give us a lot of ideas as to how we could work with ICE’, Rachel says, ‘and help transform it into a more welcoming and attractive environment.’

We’re told that this is very much a return to Exchange Quay for some of the designers at 74,

who had previously worked with the original clients to revamp the whole tenant experience by creating a new public plaza, reorganising the vehicle and pedestrian flows and enhancing the amenities by way of a post office, canteen, creche and bike store, which includes showers and changing facilities.

The development – which is, in total, a 435,000 sq ft facility – is perfectly positioned on the edge of Salford Quays and Media City.

74 was appointed by Ekistics to develop the personality of 3 Exchange Quay to the next level and appeal to tenants looking for class-leading Grade A space within a pedestrian-friendly environment, complete with coffee shop, restaurant, creche, cycle stores, changing rooms and communal social spaces.

The Manchester-based practice worked with Ekistics and Hunter REIM to develop a design strategy, which underpins the future asset management of the complex and enables the offer to stay current and appealing to an ever-demanding tenant base.

As part of the phased refurbishment of office space, 74 was instructed on Building 3 (now ICE), which sits on the central street running through the development. This 26,000 sq ft, six-storey building offers generous floorplates and excellent daylighting, served by a central circulation core.

Walking back to the future that is ICE, we soon see that 74 has designed a radically different

Mix 194 May 2019 | 69

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Case Study | Exchange Quay

ground floor arrival space, which now acts as a space. The original plan was to open everything place to meet, work, socialise and relax. ‘It’s not a up, but the designers couldn’t actually do that massive space but what we have done here is quite because of fire regulations. Instead, they pushed transformative,’ Rachel tells us. ‘What we previously everything back and took the new balustrade up to had here at the entrance was a bicycle store with the first floor, which gives it all a much more open, storage and changing fresh look. They also room on one side and an reappointed the stairs, unloved meeting room with a new up-to-date We were very conscious of the feel, and then opened on the other side, which was never used and had type of business Exchange Quay up the meeting room. its door almost pushed Here, 74 put in clear might attract – and that’s a real glazing to open the room under the stairs.

‘Structurally, we really up and get views going cross-section, from finance had to work with what both ways. One of the through to retailers we had. In its time, this biggest challenges was was probably quite the ceiling height – there hi-spec but we did look wasn’t any! 74 worked at a lot of the things that with the M&E guys to had been done here and wondered why! Then, at move all the kit away from the ceiling and give a some point, somebody gave this a lick of paint – little bit more height. The client wanted an exposed, somebody who was clearly in a ‘pink phase’!’ industrial feel to the space, but the design team The client decided that they didn’t want a bulky, fought back on that a little, feeling an industrial look manned reception desk, which helped open up the might look completely out of place. A compromise

Project Team Client Ekistics Interior Design 74 architects Furniture Provider

By Form Flooring Suppliers Bolon, Milliken, Burlington Furniture Suppliers Note Design Studio, Hay, Pedrali, Muuto Surfaces Suppliers Corian, Formica, Camira, Vescom, KABE Other Suppliers Urban Planters

This Page, Top Down: Main lounge/bar area entrance. Coworking study booths.

Mix 194 May 2019 | 71

Case Study | Exchange Quay

was found where 74 added elements of that raw, industrial feel, but also kept a more sophisticated look for much of the building.

‘We were very conscious of the type of business Exchange Quay might attract – and that’s a real cross-section, from finance through to retailers’, Rachel added. ‘This isn’t an old mill in Ancoats – this is a 90s building with amazing, massive floorplates.’

With this in mind, the ground floor meeting room perfectly blends exposed, raw elements, with luxurious, classical finishes, and would be a perfect boardroom facility for any business in any sector.

Moving back across the open ground floor space, Rachel points out that, by opening the back of the building up, a couple of car parking spaces have been lost – which was quite a big argument to win. We’re assured, however, that there is plenty of car parking still available for prospective tenants – something we hardly consider in city centres! On the other side of the space, we find something we weren’t quite expecting: an area that started with a Top, Down: Bespoke feature wall to main entrance stair. Bookable meeting/event space

The Development Exchange Quay’s seven buildings provide 435,000 sq ft of Grade A office accommodation, offering flexible opportunities for businesses of all sizes.

Benefits from fantastic road and public transport connections – including its own Metrolink station.

The development was acquired by Ekistics Property Advisors LLP in 2017.

Exchange Quay can provide a range of high quality refurbished office suites from 800 sq ft, up to full floors of 12,300 sq ft – or even a self-contained building of 94,037 sq ft.

72 | Mix 194 May 2019

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Case Study | Exchange Quay

THIS PAGE: First floor social coworking lounge

brief for a fairly typical coworking-style space, which then became a coffee shop – and finally morphed into a fully licensed bar! A second entrance was added, so that the space became open to everyone, not just the tenants here at ICE. ‘The whole concept moved really quickly. It’s a really, nice, calm space – and will really add to the Exchange Quay offering’, Rachel explained.

Rachel hasn’t finished with the surprises though, leading us up a staircase at the rear of the bar and up to a second floor! The funky, open space offers an amazing collaborative element, allowing Exchange Quay’s tenants to come together to relax, socialise and work together. Again, we see a clever combination of exposed, raw materials and smart finishes and furniture – including some fantastic light fittings.

This really is a fantastic outof-town site, with great links and communications

The 74 team has also designed a range of office suites on the floors above, which will, as touched upon earlier, certainly appeal to a cross-section of tenants wanting a Grade A workplace environment.

The large, open floorplates provide a perfect blank canvas, with great views and fantastic levels of natural light. Certain design aspects of Building 3 might have been outdated by today’s standards – but in its new guise as ICE, the building very much meets modern demands.

‘We’ve been asked to look at Building 8 next, as part of what is a bigger masterplan of work for Exchange Quay.’ Rachel tells us as we admire the views. ‘This really is a fantastic out-of-town site, with great links and communications. A lot of people live out in south Manchester – and this is a really appealing place to come to work. It’s really starting feel as though it has its own community here.’

One thing’s for certain, ICE will only help foster that community feel. We have a feeling we’ll be coming back to Exchange Quay pretty soon. w

74 | Mix 194 May 2019

Review |

Case Study |

This page Garden Path Opposite The arrival area

76 | Mix 187 September 2018

Case Study | chapmanbdsp

Good Grace We have to be extremely honest and admit that we’re horribly late getting to our appointment at chapmanbdsp’s new working home on the edge of the City of London. We hoped we’d timed things perfectly, organising our meeting in the narrow window between our two Mixology awards judging sessions across in Clerkenwell.

W

e should know better than to trust in London’s traffic! With road closures, works and diversions at pretty much every turn, there’s little our poor taxi driver can do for us – and he’s probably been stuck in this all morning.

As we reach the Gracechurch Street space (we even jogged the last 100 yards or so), we hurry up to chapmanbdsp’s 6th floor facility and make our sincere apologies. Our hosts are more than gracious, of course, and clearly understand the trials and tribulations of London’s traffic network. We’re even told that Chief Executive, Ray Upjohn, is also struggling through traffic – and when, just a couple of minutes later, Ray arrives and offers us his own apologies, we learn that, ironically, he too has just arrived from Clerkenwell and no doubt followed the same frustrating route!

Traveling across London might currently be tricky, but this, we soon learn, is part of the reason for chapmanbdsp’s relocation to this part of London. ‘We were previously based in Farringdon – on Saffron Hill,’ Ray recalls. ‘We were across two floors there and communication between the floors wasn’t great – there was a real divide between the two.

'We were also in a different part of town from the majority of our clients, which wasn’t ideal.’ chapmanbdsp specialises in building services engineering and environmental design, delivering world-class projects across a range of sectors.

The company commissioned KKS to relocate the workplace to 40 Gracechurch Street, not only moving from two floors to one single floorplate, but also using the relocation as an opportunity to

undertake a complete assessment of the office culture as part of a major rebrand.

Their dynamic new brand and visual elements reflect how the business has grown in the past 45 years. KKS has incorporated this new branding into the design of the space and provided a workplace design that creates a sense of wellbeing, whilst reinforcing chapmanbdsp’s environmental ethos.

We ask our hosts about the process behind this impressive new working home. ‘We looked at what we wanted going forward, where we needed to be for our clients and also looked at our own people – and made a decision on the back of all that to come here,’ Ray says. ‘We quickly moved to get our people thinking about designing the space, we got KKS involved early and organised workshops with the guys here. We rebranded and moved on the same

Mix 194 May 2019 | 77

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Case Study | chapmanbdsp

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Top: Client suite 2nd Top: Patio space

day – which was a huge cultural shift for us – and we’ve seen some really positive results in the seven months we’ve been here.

‘It was a big change for us,’ Ray confirms. ‘We had to demonstrate that we didn’t need such a great attachment to paper, for example. Everyone’s responded really well though. They now realise that they don’t need 50 drawings on their desk. So they now get a personal locker and a nominated area of filing shelf – and if they fill that shelf then they should be throwing some of it away or scanning it into the system.

‘This space was formerly the home of a retail fit-out company that was acquired by ISG. We employed an agent and came and had a look at the space. We could have stayed where we were, but we had a really good deal here and we were also able to restore some of the existing facilities here. We then talked about moving some of the other facilities, added what we wanted, worked out a deal for the space and brought in KKS, who quickly devised some of the layouts – which have really personalised the space for us. Our people love it – they’re really proud of it. This immediately gave the new brand some substance. Another great advantage this has brought us is that it is just so easy to get to for our clients – despite the traffic on days like today! We now have clients come in to see us who really wouldn’t have done when we were back in Farringdon.’

Paul Cahalan, Head of Communications at chapmanbdsp, adds: ‘We’ve totally changed the way we work – we now have agile working – and KKS has done some really clever stuff with the design to bring everyone together and make the space work in a seamless way.

Above & Left: Media bench Above & Right: Impromptu meeting booths Right: Personal lockers with planting

Mix 194 May 2019 | 79

Case Study | chapmanbdsp

Above Biophilia incorporated into the workplace

Project Team Client chapmanbdsp Interior Designer KKS Furniture Provider Broadbase Furniture Solutions Furniture Suppliers Senator, Bisley, Herman Miller, Humanscale Storage Silverline

80 | Mix 194 May 2019

‘To be honest, a lot of the guys here don’t really know why it works in the way it does – but it really does work! I really do think that, as an office, this is now starting to really function how we hoped it would – the collaborative spaces, the drop-in spaces, the hub…all these things are changing people’s perceptions of how they can work.

‘We’ve never been so popular. We’ve put great coffee in here, everyone is happy to get in earlier and leave later, we recently had wellness week, we’ve got yoga, table tennis, talks on exercise and fitness… it’s totally changed the way we look at things. We simply didn’t have that previously. We can now host all of these things because we have an incredibly adaptable space that allows everybody to come together. We’re now working as a single team and, thanks to all the hub and breakout space we have here and the smart, adaptable nature of the space, for a company of our size, we’re now punching well above our weight!’

We’re told that all this was achieved with a relatively tight budget and even tighter timelines.

‘We’ve repurposed and reused a lot of the material here,’ Paul tells us. ‘A lot of the stuff that was originally going to be stripped out we made sure was left in, saving on the carbon side of things.

‘I do think that the early engagement with KKS was critical to the success of the scheme. There was

Our people love it – they’re really proud of it. This immediately gave the new brand some substance

a really quick turnaround here – and on top of the rebranding and synching everything together – was quite a feat. There was a lot going on.

‘The office move was the catalyst for the cultural change. We brought KKS in to present to the staff, to show them what the space could look like. From there, it was the staff, through committees, who chose the furnishings, the breakout space design – they had a hand in all of this. We have four offices – Kent, Birmingham, Dubai and London – and it was also important that we brought each of those offices in to the process.

‘We now have 64% of our people are under 40 – and this space really suits the agile way in which they work. We were, however, mindful that the office would cater for a broad range of ages – and would help us be able to retain and attract talent.

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Case Study | chapmanbdsp

This Page Left: Garden Path leading to the patio Below: Green wall leading to tea point Opposite Flexible work zone

The Client

chapmanbdsp is a building services and environmental engineering company that has delivered projects in more than 30 countries across the globe. chapmanbdsp has partnered with clients across an array of markets including commercial offices, residential, education, retail, leisure and healthcare, delivering projects ranging from large mixed-use regeneration schemes to one-off private homes.

Founded in 1972, chapmanbdsp is an independent business, owned and run by shareholding directors and has a team of up to 200 engineers, designers, architects, programmers, analysts and researchers.

Ray kindly offers to walk us through the new space, starting with the communal breakout/ canteen, which is smartly appointed behind smart reception area. Here Ray points out a number of the ‘saved’ items from the previous tenants’ scheme, including a series of eye-catching booths, which blend perfectly into the colourful, bright, buzzy space.

‘We had doubled our occupancy in the six years we were in the Saffron Hill space, so we simply didn’t have anything like this. We didn’t have great meeting and breakout facilities. Now we are able to hold town hall meetings, events and presentations here,’ Ray

82 | Mix 194 May 2019

tells us, as we take the short walk though to the main working area. ‘There were previously a row of pods in the middle here, which took all the light away from the space. We’ve followed the WELL principles here.

You’ll see that we have height adjustable furniture, all that natural light and plenty of biophilia. Our people work in neighbourhoods. Every four or five months we’ll move the neighbourhoods so that people get to work alongside different colleagues and different departments. We can’t be 100% agile due to the fact that some of our engineers still require specialist facilities.’

The open floorplate includes a garden path, which circulates the floorplate, maximising the benefit of that increased natural light. Informal, soft seating is placed along the walkways so that the best of the natural light is available to all. The space is cleverly organised to encourage collaboration, as well as providing quiet oases for individual working. It is this flexibility and freedom that undoubtedly allows chapmanbdsp’s new working home to thrive.

KKS really has designed a space that reinforces the new brand and reflects the innovative culture of chapmanbdsp.w

Case Study | chapmanbdsp

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Roundtable

UX Programmes focused on physical elements

86%

Environment (eg. occupancy metrics, building security, thermal comfort)

69%

Amenities (eg. hospitality, food and fitness, concierge)

37%

Community (eg. internal events, employee surveys, volunteering opportunities)

67%

Process (eg. tech enablement tools, efficiency aids)

Source: CBRE Research, 2019

Optimising Human Capital: Evolving strategies for skills, space and service By way of an introduction to this month’s fascinating Round Table discussion, our hosts for the event – CBRE – kindly presented us with the key findings from a fascinating and relevant study they recently completed.

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ccupiers identify labour and skills shortages as one of their top three strategic challenges. The proportion highlighting this as an area of focus has doubled since last year. Employee engagement and talent attraction and development are two of the three most important drivers of corporate real estate strategy, even ahead of cost-reduction. In this context, optimising human capital is becoming the overriding aim of occupiers’ property decisions.

The survey identifies four major and interlocking levers, through which companies are seeking to use real estate as a way of influencing and enhancing their appeal to skilled labour: Procurement and fit-out strategy; Flexible space strategy; User Experience strategy; Technology strategy.

Occupiers are increasingly influenced by internal building characteristics – particularly a range of favourable lease options – in selecting properties. While traditional procurement and fitout approaches, Cat A or Shell and Core, are still favoured when taking large leases in a new building, there is evidence of willingness to pay premiums for both highly-serviced amenity rich space and tech-enabled smart space. There is also scope for exploring innovative cost-sharing partnership arrangements with landlords.

Corporate appetite for flexible space continues to grow. The proportion of companies expecting to make significant use of flexible space over the next three years is 20 percentage points higher than those who currently do so. Attracting and retaining talent is explicitly part of the reason for this, while a rising number of companies are using flexible space as part of a wider attempt to experiment with different workplace and occupancy models. This is

also seen as one way of satisfying a growing need for service and amenities, to a greater extent than any perceived ‘community’ benefits.

Formal User Experience (UX) programmes – aimed at curating the full range of workforce needs across workplace, amenity and service – are still a minority pursuit. Where they do exist, they focus more on physical aspects of the working environment than on softer ‘community’ elements.

CBRE sees this as a phase in the UX evolution into something more comprehensive and towards wider adoption. This view is backed by the fact that a third of companies have plans to hire a UX lead and twothirds would pay a premium for a building in which the landlord had provided an enhanced UX offer.

Technology disruption – particularly AI and machine learning – is one of the drivers of technology strategy. 70% of companies intend to raise their level of real estate technology investment in the next few years, mostly in a more people-centric direction. The methods of acquiring the skills needed to deliver these aims, such as data scientists, are becoming more sophisticated, with corporates prepared to contemplate a broad range of approaches, including outsourcing to specialists.

Corporate demand will become increasingly segmented as occupiers improve their ability to package space, service and amenity. This will accelerate the shift towards customised solutions that reflect the specific needs of different business functions.

In summary, we predict an exciting, but very different tech-enabled workplace of the future. w Source: CBRE EMEA Occupier Survey 2019

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Roundtable

What do clients really want?

I

t is somewhat fitting, with the Manchester derby just a couple of hours away, and a sea of red- and blue-clad fans expectantly making their way off to Old Trafford, that we’ve found an oasis of calm high above the city’s St Peter’s Square.

We’re settled into CBRE Manchester’s fantastic office space, together with our sponsors, Senator, and a panel of industry experts, to discuss what is possibly the most important subject of the lot – yet one that is far from easy to resolve; what do clients really want?

According to CBRE’s 2018 Occupier Survey, more than 80% of tenants perceive amenities as integral to the employee experience and 65% think service-oriented amenities are more important than fixed spacebased amenities. Delos, the founder

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of the WELL standard, stresses that creating a culture of health and wellness in which employees actively participate is more than providing a gym and healthy items in the cafeteria or introducing a corporate challenge.

What is clear is that there is no single, flat-pack solution – but how do you ensure a happy client and contented workforce?

Roundtable

THE DISCUSSION Regular readers will be aware that we always like to ‘ease’ our expert panel into the discussion with an icebreaker question. So, we begin by asking our panelists to reveal the strangest requests they’ve received from their clients.

Rachel: One of the strangest things – and we do get asked this a lot – is whether we can specify stuff from Ikea. A lot of people don’t understand why we don’t. They don’t understand about longevity and if they don’t put in the up-front costs they’re going to have to replace things 10-times over.

Adrian: There have been a variety of strange requests over the years – running tracks at the bottom of swimming pools, health and safety rooms next to the MD’s office, right through to slightly off requests when it comes to tea and toilets.

Employees want to be able to go in and change how they work every day. One day they might want to work in the open plan but the next day they might need to focus.

Stevie: The strangest thing we’ve recently been asked for was for three hi-spec hair-drying facilities in a male changing room.

Simon: About eight years ago, for a Greek shipping company, I was asked to provide a 3x3m rubberclad room with a hook in the middle. It never got built!

Andrew: We’ve been asked to cut a car in half a couple of times. One of our clients was a cable tie manufacturer and they wanted us to dissect the car so people could see where their cable ties were used in a working car. Again, it didn’t actually come to fruition in the end.

Mark: This might not sound so strange today, but it certainly felt strange at the time. Back in 1988 we were asked by an insurance company for a funky, psychedelic, freaky fun room. It actually ended up being quite a nice room and was good fun!

Oliver: The weirdest request we’ve had from a client is for a meeting room that looked like a space ship. It did get built – and even though it had to actually function as a room, you could definitely see galaxies far, far away!

Ashleigh: I was recently asked to tank and steel reinforce a basement with noise blasters, smoke screen and high-frequency sound to knock anyone out if they go near it – because there were a number of personal items down there!

Moving away from the weird and wonderful, we get down to the real subject at hand; what do clients really want?

Ashleigh: I think the key thing for me, at the moment – and we’ve seen this in a job we’ve been working on in Liverpool – is empowerment.

Employees want to be able to go in and change how they work every day. One day they might want to work in the open plan but the next day they might need to focus.

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Roundtable

Simon: It’s about accessibility to decision makers and visibility to be able to control your destiny.

Whether that’s about choosing to work in a particular environment or choosing whether or not to come in today or having the ability to shape and change the task you’re doing, this is one of the big things about productivity, but it’s not the exclusive thing. It’s about that visibility of the management.

What is dissatisfactory is when people are so far removed from decision makers in global occupiers – it’s nice to be small because you feel accountable.

There’s a certain amount of autonomy that’s needed – and that comes from a mix of the space and the culture. It’s so frustrating to see how juggernaut slow the pace of change can be with some occupiers – and this is why the tech companies have really championed this new way of working, with no hierarchy. When it comes down to it, it’s about a mindset. I think we can support it in terms of space planning and interior design to a certain degree, but a lot of it comes down to design and HR working hand-in-hand with FM as a design team to help influence people’s behaviour.

Andrew: I think titles are interesting right now.

We’re seeing people’s titles switch from Head of HR to Head of People – with HR as a title becoming almost redundant. I also think flexibility is a key thing – particularly with younger generations, who

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expect that flexibility in terms of how, where and when they work.

Oliver: There has been a huge shift in the last 15 years. Organisations are now willing to open up the floor to user groups and allow people to have a say. We’re involved a lot of the time in the briefing stages of a project – pre-design tem being brought on board. The conversations are predominantly not with the MD’s any more – they’re with the people who are empowered to change the environment.

The focus is no longer simply on how quick, how much will it cost and where are we going to move to – it’s much more of a combination now and it usually starts with the user experience conversation.

I do agree that there are a lot of bigger companies who are behind the curve when it comes to adapting and implementing these changes.

Rachel: I think it’s all about making sure people understand how things are going to change – and sometimes it’s about explaining why they’re not going to get everything they want. One brief works for one client, but won’t work for another. If you look at Google, for example, a lot of people jumped on that bandwagon but it didn’t work them – it was never going to work for a lot of industries.

It’s about making sure that you listen to the client and really understand what they do day-to-day. A

tech company is not going to need the same things as a law firm. If you don’t handle the change management process in the right way you will end up with disgruntled staff and then you simply won’t get the best out of them and then staff retention won’t be good. You really need to listen to what there are doing in their day-to-day work.

Mark: Investment has to be upfront. I think it’s really important that you fully make that investment.

I think there’s an awful lot of heart driving design right now. We’re finding, when you break things down, that people want geography without borders.

They don’t want walls and borders – and tech has enabled that hugely. People are now intuitively walking around from place to place without even being conscious that they are. What you then plot within that open space is open to fantastic variety nowadays.

Simon: A good workplace design doesn’t happen to you, it happens with you – and you need to inform that. The bits that have to go into that space have to be developed around a particular workstyle and no two occupiers are ever the same. When you’re pitching yourselves – which we have to do as designers – you have to tell the client that there is no inevitability about design – just don’t tell me that

Roundtable

The focus is no longer simply on how quick, how much will it cost and where are we going to move to – it’s much more of a combination now and it usually starts with the user experience conversation

you want a ‘wow’ factor! What do you really want in there to get the best out of people. One of the things I’m trying to push more and more is the mental health and wellbeing of a workplace. It’s happening more and more – and what I would like to see is more systems manufacturers to recognise that it’s not all about performance. It’s about someone’s ability to do a job – and this all comes back to management philosophy.

Andrew: I think happiness is going to overtake productivity in terms of how people measure the success of a workplace design and fit-out. We’re seeing more and more employee engagement apps being used – and they’re about measuring how happy employees are. I do think that, as Oliver mentioned earlier, that for all the businesses that are switched on to this, there are 10 times as many who aren’t. There are still a lot of owner managed businesses that are still focused on ‘what I want’ – not what their employees want.

Adrian: I think it’s easy to forget the human bit! Furniture is judged on reconfiguration, wire management, metal-to-metal fixings, 20-year guarantees…and none of that really benefits me.

Do I care if my desk can be reconfigured? We’ve forgotten that this should be about reading, writing, drawing, thinking, concentrating. If you give people a great space but they haven’t got room to think and then go home to work in their kitchen, then the design has failed. If you consider your home, it’s judged solely on an emotional reaction – do I like this place? You don’t get a spreadsheet out and consider cost per square foot or durability. It’s an emotional attachment. We’re definitely going in the right direction though. Also, I think we’ve forgotten that the largest part of the working population is 35-50 and this is going to be the generation that, for the next 10 years, dominates decision making.

Ashleigh: We’ve got a brief at the moment where the brand is incomplete. So we’ve got no brand guidelines, no colour palette, no look and feel to work with. Their brief is to bring joy to the workplace

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Roundtable

Always try to get that disgruntled person on the steering group! If you win them over, you’ll win the lot.

– which is, like Adrian was saying, about emotional attachments and how you consider your own home.

One unhappy, disgruntled person amongst a bank of six happy people will soon get into their ears – and suddenly that unhappiness can snowball.

CONCLUSION

Simon: Always try to get that disgruntled person on the steering group! If you win them over, you’ll win the lot.

This is, of course, a mere snippet of what was a fascinating conversation. We wrapped things up by asking our guests, in a single word, what they felt, having discussed the topic at length, what workers really do want.

Rachel: I think it’s important to remember that we’re talking about individuals – no two people are the same. For example, some people can work remotely quite happily, whereas others need that interaction. I know that if I haven’t seen an adult all day, I’ll chew my husband’s ear off!

Stevie: I think, for me, it’s great to have a fantastic looking office, a great coffee machine, employers who promote health and wellbeing and create a community environment, but I prefer my directors to give me autonomy – to give me creative freedom.

That’s far more important for me. We want direction, of course, but we don’t want to be micromanaged.

I think that’s going to retain staff – not a ping pong table! You want to feel valued, appreciated and trusted. That means more than anything.

Simon: It’s fascinating to work out what range of spaces and facilities you need to provide in order to keep everyone feeling like that! We have one of the most voyeuristic jobs on the planet. You get to see the inner workings of a business – and then you’re tasked with creating a space that responds to that.

That is what good design is!

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Rachel: Ownership.

Adrian: Trust.

Stevie: Happiness.

Simon: Ownership.

Andrew: Flexibility.

Mike: Choice.

Mark: Happiness.

Oliver: Amenity.

Ashleigh: Fulfillment.w

Roundtable

OUR GUESTS

Simon Millington, Owner, Incognito

Mark Alcorn, Managing Director, c2:concepts

Rachel Bishop, Project Director, tp bennett

Ashleigh Biggins, Senior Interior Designer, Denton

Simon is the founder of Incognito, an exciting boutique design studio that specialises in delivering creative interiors solutions for occupiers and landlords alike. Simon’s experience spans 20 years and reaches as far as Amsterdam, Moscow, San Francisco, New York and Sydney. Recent projects closer to home have seen him designing spaces for AstraZeneca, Regatta and Nestle.

Mark is the Managing Director of c2:concepts, which he founded in 2003. He has over 30 years’ experience in the design business within organisations such as GMW and BDG. He believes that creativity is paramount at all times, from the art of space planning to the design language of the interior architecture.

Rachel joined tp bennett in 2015, when she returned to the UK following two years working in Australia. She has gained experience at some of the leading practices, including Foster + Partners, where she was part of the Workplace Consultancy team. Rachel is a highly creative, passionate designer, who has delivered award-winning projects across numerous sectors.

Ashleigh recently joined Denton as Senior Interior Designer in the Manchester office, with a role to oversee all workplace design and fit-out for the North.

She has worked alongside a variety of clients, from corporate professional services to innovative technology businesses, to deliver a number of fantastic schemes across the UK.

Oliver Thomas, Head of CBRE North Building Consultancy, CBRE

Stevie Leigh, Associate, Fairhursts DG

Andrew Jackson, Marketing Director, Opus4

Adrian Campbell, Workplace Design, Senator

Oliver heads up the CBRE North Building Consultancy Team and works across the commercial property sector, ensuring he is in touch with the market. A building surveyor and PM by trade, Oliver has a real interest in the built environment. Impossible and challenging briefs excite him and he loves stakeholder engagement, design and high spec projects.

Stevie has a wealth of experience in designing and delivering engaging spaces for commercial and residential developers, universities and Premier League football clubs.

She has executed projects across the UK, Isle of Man and Australia.

She has recently completed transformations at Three Piccadilly Place and Teesside University.

Andrew has worked in the commercial interiors industry for more than 20 years. Joining Opus 4 in 2002, he is responsible for promoting all aspects of the business, managing clients and developing new opportunities.

He is passionate about helping businesses improve their workplace culture and employee engagement by demonstrating the benefits of great workplace design.

Adrian heads Workplace Design at The Senator Group and has just written a book. People like to make sense of their world and 'it’s all about me' gives a very easy to understand doctrine as to why furniture, psychology, productivity, satisfaction and motivation in the workplace are so intrinsically linked.

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What's the story?

Clerkenwell is home to more creative businesses and architects per square mile than anywhere else on the planet, making it truly one of the most important design hubs in the world. To celebrate this rich and diverse community, Clerkenwell Design Week has, for a decade now, created a showcase of leading UK and international brands, presented in a series of showroom events, exhibitions and special installations across the borough. Celebrating its 10th year, CDW has firmly established itself as one of the UK’s leading design festivals. Over the next dozen or so pages we’ll bring you a selection of what you can expect to find in those showrooms and exhibition spaces this month.

Photo credit: Adam Dale

Mix 194 May 2019 | 95

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Deadgood British design brand Deadgood are set to celebrate their 15th birthday during Clerkenwell Design Week. The company will launch new furniture, lighting and finishes within a completely refreshed Old Street showroom.

New products on show include a bold installation of the Bristol light, designed inhouse, alongside the Laps stool, Deadgood’s second collaboration with British designers, SmithMatthias. The company will also showcase a new powder coating finish, aptly titled ‘Get Wasted’. Over the last decade and a half Deadgood has cemented its reputation as one of the go-to brands within the architecture and design community. Their key values of fun, quality and a proud sense of local provenance have become more and more relevant to the commercial sector over recent years. Have a dead good birthday! www.deadgoodltd.co.uk

Viasit

Thinking Works

Mark Product British furniture manufacturer MARK Product is teaming up with 10 architecture and interior design firms to re-interpret its Loops chair. With its distinct aesthetic, the Loops collection was launched by MARK last year and can be used to create character in many settings.

The firms taking part have been given the option to specify Kvadrat fabric, graphically print or take a hands-on approach to modifying the chair, with the final products displayed at an exhibition in the MARK Product showroom. Designed by Studiomama, the chair sits alongside a sofa and table in the collection. www.markproduct.com

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Founded in 1984 in Australia, Thinking Works was the first designer of heightadjustable desks in the country. Still ahead of the curve, it designs and manufactures workstations, acoustic furniture and quirky seating solutions, all with the open-minded curiosity that underpins its approach to furniture.

This year the company launches Stix – a height-adjustable and fixed-height desking solution inspired by the honest and simplistic construction of bamboo scaffolding – and Screenliner, a world-first acoustic desk screen inspired by aeronautical interior design that features integrated storage, built-in power and inductive charging facilities, as well as concealed power management and ambient lighting. www.thinkingw.com

The new Calyx lounge chair is a design that evokes a mid-century air; a practical all-rounder, which is as comfortable as it looks and feels. The foam-wrapped cushioned steel frame and additional, loose-fitted seat cushion guarantee a secure and comfortable sitting experience. Featuring high quality engineering and comfort, combined with an affordable mid-price range, Calyx cuts just as good a figure in modern, open plan office landscapes as it does in a public space, hotel or residential setting.

With a variable choice of frames and an opulent selection of fabrics, Calyx fits harmoniously into every setting, making its own distinctive mark. www.viasit.de

sixteen3 sixteen3 will be showcasing Calvert – the Mixology award-winning space division system, at its stand at Project, introducing new finishes and accessories, whilst highlighting the flexibility and adaptability of the system.

Steel frame walls act as room dividers, with the louvre-style grid pattern diffusing visibility between areas without creating a definite wall.

Accessories, such as display cubes, shelves,

AV boxes, dry-wipe surfaces and upholstered panels, along with benches and desk surfaces, can be incorporated to add flexible functionality.

Infinitely scalable, the system can grow, adapt and be reconfigured as spaces evolve, and can be used to create landscapes from simple partitions to all-encompassing ‘room-within-aroom’ environments. www.sixteen3.co.uk

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Luctra

KI Furniture KI Europe makes its Clerkenwell Design Week debut this year with a pop-up showroom at the landmark Paxton Locher House on Clerkenwell Green. KI’s radically evolved 800 Series modular shelving system will be on display, alongside the enhanced Work2.1 sit/stand workstations, the new Grafton seating collection and the new stackable

Hatton chair. There will also be an installation by designer Freyja Sewell, a past recipient of the annual KI Award and graduate of the Royal College of Art. Freyja has created the versatile, beautiful ‘Kumo Baffle’ – an acoustic treatment made with PET felt that can be mounted on walls or ceilings. www.ki.com

The award-winning LUCTRA VITAWORK is an intelligent luminaire that flexibly adapts to the changing lighting environment. With the help of high luminous flux levels and unique asymmetrical light distribution, it can be used in any workplace instead of overhead ceiling lights. The lamp can be manually adjusted via the glass touch panel or controlled automatically via its presence and light intensity sensors.

VITAWORK provides exceptional visual comfort as well as a cost and energysaving solution. You can see the LUCTRA range in a number of Clerkenwell showrooms: Bene, Haiken, Hunts, Kinnarps, Koplus and Tsunami Axis. www.luctra.eu/en/

Forbo

orangebox Within today’s increasingly interconnected and global world of work, businesses are searching for new ways to facilitate both collaboration and more effective working practices. This CDW, Orangebox will be presenting an updated Smartworking landscape – one that addresses the challenges and opportunities of today so that we can meet the needs of 2020 and beyond.

The space has been designed, over five floors, to host a rich diversity of work settings, from open collaboration to private, focused settings. Along with showcasing new products, Orangebox will be hosting workshops and seminars throughout the event. www.orangebox.com

Forbo will launch two fresh and exciting textile collections, Flotex Colour and Tessera Chroma at CDW. Flotex Colour presents a rejuvenated palette of 96 hues, spanning from subtle shades to vibrant colour pops, and also includes a new design, Canyon. Now available in sheet, tile and plank, the collection offers ultimate design flexibility. In addition, Forbo will bring a new carpet tile, Tessera Chroma, to the market; a semi-plain, textured loop range comprising 27 sophisticated and trend led shades to complement contemporary interiors. With the revitalisation of Forbo’s Marmoleum Marbled back in January, 2019 really is a celebration of colour! www.forbo.com

Camira Camira will be celebrating mid-century modern throughout Clerkenwell Design Week. Shining a spotlight on the recent recreation of the textiles of Danish/American designer, Jens Risom, the Camira showroom will feature the wool-rich fabrics, Zap and Armadillo. Originally designed

by Risom in the 1960s and reimagined by Camira for today’s commercial interiors, visitors will be able to explore these uniquely exciting textiles and the era of their creation through a number of different installations. www.camirafabrics.com

Mix 194 May 2019 | 97

Jens Risom pioneered mid-century modern design for half a century. Camira is the first company to recreate his iconic fabrics.

At Clerkenwell Design Week we celebrate the designers of the period and pay homage to a classic Playboy centrefold.

Designed by Risom. Reimagined by Camira.

Camira has brought two exquisitely woven fabrics, Zap and Armadillo, into a new era. Armadillo, pictured here, is Spanish for “little armoured one�, the super cute armour-coated, roly-poly mammal. The fabric echoes these traits in a tough, confident, quirky combination in 12 selective colourways. Sporting a subtle weave pattern to create balance through colour, texture and construction, visual flecks from the wool flax yarn bring personality and charm to this flexible textile. Learn more at www.camirafabrics.com

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CMD Brunner Brunner’s newly refurbished showroom will be welcoming visitors from London and further afield for this year’s CDW. At the company’s German headquarters, a brand new 6,500 sq m Innovation Centre has recently been completed, allowing the design and manufacture of its portfolio to be as innovative and efficient as possible. The brilliant, brand new RAY SOFT collection, alongside many other exciting products, will be available to view throughout the festival.

Capsule is an adaptable, all-in-one, power, data and mobile device charging module. Simple and elegant in appearance, it offers illuminated switches, push button resettable fuses, USB Type A charging and adaptable fast charging USB Type C connections.

Capsule also offers removable covers for adapting the unit with a full range of data connectivity, including fixings for Cat 6 data and HDMI as required. Capsule is featured and available at the CMD showroom on Charterhouse Street during this year’s CDW.

www.brunner-uk.com

www.cmd-ltd.com

Workbench These are exciting times for Workbench, as the company moves into its new studio; a collaborative space for architects, designers and clients to view product, explore the latest materials, develop ideas and create new design details in a dynamic environment. With new bespoke product to see, as well as furniture from the standard range, Workbench has endless solutions for corporate interiors – so go and take a look. www.jclworkbench.co.uk

Parkside Parkside, the design-led tile specification company, will be launching Sequel by Alusid, a sustainable tile range featuring 98% recycled content, at CDW. Available in three sizes and three appealing colours, the unique combination of ingredients in each tile, coupled with human involvement at every stage in the manufacturing process, ensures that each tile maintains a distinct, handcrafted quality, with no two ever appearing quite the same. Parkside is also launching several exclusive tile collections at its recently opened Clerkenwell showroom – an impressive light-filled hub for the design community, complete with a café, tile gallery, design studio and coworking space. www.parkside.co.uk

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Rigg Flexx is a modular system with columns that is available in various heights. Additionally, a variety of shelving materials can be specified. The Trak table, meanwhile, has a light, elegant feel thanks to its birch plywood construction.

The metal brace bars ensure rigidity. Rigg will also show a low, complementary version. www.rigg.uk

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shaw contract commercial flooring

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Ice Breaker.

Come in from the cold.

The patterns of winter. As cool or warm as you want them. When the etched lines of cracked ice combine with greys or naturals, the effects can be surprisingly soft.

That’s Ice Breaker. Neutral flooring you notice. At a price to suit most budgets.

And like all our floors, Ice Breaker is carbon neutral. Warming without global warming.

Find out more at interface.com

+Positive spaces™

Better products. Happier people. Healthier planet.

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Verco

OE Electrics PLY, with its innovative use of birch plywood and laminate, takes the traditional desktop power module in an exciting new design direction. PLY offers a choice of either premium Alpine white or dark grey matt laminate front trim to contrast or complement the black socket fascia and mounting bracket.

As a stylish finishing touch, a black and white rayon braided power cord can also be specified. PLY is available in both vertical two-gang and horizontal three-gang versions, with a choice of international AC power sockets, OE’s class leading TUF 25W twin USB fast charger and data and AV sockets.

The integral powder coated steel clamp bracket enables desk edge or through desk mounting. www.oeelectrics.co.uk

People are at the heart of what Verco does.

Only through understanding the individual’s needs does the company create the perfect products for its partners. This approach tempers Verco’s wealth of experience and expertise with meeting the needs of its partners to create beautifully considered products.

From the current thinking around the modern, connected workplace and designed to be a responsive and comprehensive compilation of beautifully simple products, Verco’s Clerkenwell showroom collection addresses the future need for an eclectic mix of work spaces within the workplace that echoes the comfort and wellbeing of home and promotes a creative, collaborative spirit. www.verco.co.uk

Flokk A new sofa and easy chair for urban spaces, Young – by British designer Michael Young –dives into the Swedish design sensibility and simplicity in Michael’s first collaboration with Offecct. Every angle and element of this sofa and easy chair has been carefully thought out. Quilted textile covers the soft seating, which rests on a delicately shaped wooden frame. The size, appearance and function makes Young suitable for public spaces and hospitality areas, as well as offices and domestic spheres where space is limited. The Young Sofa is available to view in the Flokk Showroom on Central Street. www.flokk.com

Interstuhl With PUREis3, Interstuhl is leading the way in a new era of active sitting. The ultra-innovative swivel chair supports the user's movements in all directions. This 360-degree manoeuvrability is all down to a new and unique material integrated into the ‘smart spring technology’ of the chair. The special composition of polyamide and glass fibre has been meticulously developed and extensively tested by Interstuhl. The outcome is that the PUREis3 is a dynamic and agile chair that does not need any manual adjustments and adapts intuitively to anyone who sits on it. www.interstuhl.com

Colebrook Bosson Saunders CBS will be launching its new entry-level monitor arm, Lima, which continues the company’s legacy of human-focused, awardwinning design. Lima is all about ease. From arriving in one box, making it quick to order and dispatch, to requiring the minimum of tools to install it, Lima can be specified with ease. When it comes to usability, Lima’s screen height can be adjusted with the push of a button. And, as the needs of a workspace grow, Lima can evolve from a single to dual solution by sliding an additional arm onto the post. Easy. www.colebrookbossonsaunders.com

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Protocol Hitch Mylius Hitch Mylius will be launching a collection of booth and privacy sofas and chairs for CDW, providing comfortable and elegant seating that is designed to meet the flexible needs of our working environments. The new collection, hm19/ Reveal is available as a single and 1.5-seat chair, a 2-, 2.5- and 3-seat sofa. When combined with modular side and booth panels, a compact corner unit, integrated tables and power options, Reveal provides sanctuary for private working as well as space for collaboration. Designed in-house and made at the company’s north London factory, Reveal offers the quality and meticulous detail that is synonymous with this established brand. www.hitchmylius.co.uk

Clerkenwell Design Week will see the exclusive reveal of Protocol’s newly launched modular seating range, AirWave. New to the UK market by highly acclaimed designer, Charles Godbout, AirWave is designed to help create a selection of spaces to include collaborative working, casual meetings, breakout areas and private pods. Visitors can experience the comfort and versatility the seating range offers whilst seeing the ‘waves’ come to life as Protocol displays a number of different configurations.

The models, which include ottomans, benches, lounge chairs and sofas, feature wireless charging, USB ports and UKF power sockets, so you can sit back and relax in AirWave whilst conveniently charging your devices. www.protocoluk.com

Interface Interface will bring together its family of carbon neutral flooring, from carpet tile to LVT (Luxury Vinyl Tile) and nora rubber flooring for CDW. The products are the embodiment of the manufacturer’s Climate Take Back mission, which is focused on creating a climate fit for life. Among the flooring on display will be the newly launched Ice Breaker carpet tile collection, which mimics the effect of scratched ice to help create simple, nature inspired workplaces. It is designed to be installed in a non-directional pattern and can be used seamlessly alongside both LVT and rubber flooring. www.interface.com

Tarkett Tarkett invites visitors to experience The Great Indoors at its Great Sutton Street showroom throughout Clerkenwell Design Week, offering a packed programme of thought-provoking workshops and panel discussions, all inspired

by The Great Indoors concept. Visitors will be invited to ‘Meet the Designers’ behind some of Tarkett’s newest collections, including the recently expanded DESSO Desert AirMaster range, which is designed to improve indoor air quality. CDW will also see the launch of Tarkett’s new research report, Rethinking Workplace: UK Focus, which explores the wants and needs of office workers. www.tarkett.co.uk

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Boss Boss will be unveiling an exciting new line-up that reaffirms its reputation for design excellence at this year’s CDW festival. Bringing new products to the fore from each of its three brands – Boss Design, Lyndon & Komac – the Boss showroom will be a hive of activity over the three days, with visitors having exclusive first time viewing to a collection of new seating products alongside other established products from the portfolio. Ranges new to Boss Design include an exciting collection of tub and lounge seating, DNA, which has been designed in-house, and a monoshell plastic work café chair, Saint, designed by established designers John Bennett and Giovanni Ingignoli. www.bossdesign.com

Bespoke corporate furniture. Designed by us, tailored by you

Kite Boardroom Table

Smoked oak veneer with feature inlay

jclworkbench.co.uk

another workbench design Š 2019

020 7251 9336

CDW Preview

Wiesner-Hager Future offices must provide employees with differentiated, versatile work environments offering supportive settings for a variety of activities.

Activity Based Working is very much the order of the day – and, with this in mind, Wiesner-Hager has developed an innovative interior design concept perfectly suited to agile businesses. m.zone consists of individual elements such as room dividers, modular and standalone furniture pieces, which can be combined flexibly to create new working environments to suit client’s individual ideas and needs. m.zone is ideal for a wide range of application areas within the office architecture. www.wiesner-hager.com

Bisley

Max Furniture

IVC Exhibiting in Project at this year’s CDW, IVC is officially launching to the UK’s A&D community, showcasing its impressive flooring solutions, designed and made entirely in-house. With carpet tile, LVT and heterogeneous sheet vinyl, IVC’s flooring solutions are diverse – and capable of equipping an entire office with high-performance products. From carpet tile for working and meeting spaces, to LVT in receptions and breakouts, and sheet vinyl for a seamless look, IVC manufactures its floors in Belgium, as part of Europe’s largest manufacturer of carpet tile, LVT and heterogeneous floors. www.ivcgroup.com

Max designs and manufactures workplaces that have ‘that special something’. With the ability to adapt to the evolving workplace, Max is able to produce the perfect solution to individual and budgetary requirements. Max Furniture’s market leading product is Hush Office, an acoustic booth family that form agile, independent workspaces for telephone conversations, focus areas and meetings. The company’s crafted furniture portfolio also offers many other innovative products, such as the Stand-Up workstation, which was awarded the Red Dot Award, and the Tea executive chair range, another Red Dot Award and German Design Award winner. www.maxfurniture.com

Bisley is pleased to be launching a number of new products and collaborations to celebrate the 1st year anniversary of their flagship showroom. The next wave of innovations are designed to inspire imagination and productivity beyond the traditional workstation – from BOB, the first all-wood product from Bisley, to Be, the new dual aspect, creative solution that produces perfect combinations for a connected workspace. There is also a programme of CDW events designed to stimulate discussion, including talks from Workhorse founder, Alastair Badman, and an interactive breakfast session with Craig Jones, founder and director of Jones & Partners. www.bisley.com

Amtico Amtico will be returning to CDW for a fourth year to showcase its extensive collections of Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) and carpet, while demonstrating how its wide selection of products can be used together to create showstopping integrated designs.

This year, Amtico will be exhibiting in the Project pavilions at the Garden of St. James. The company’s stand will feature displays of its loose-lay Access range, its flagship Signature collection and its recently launched Colour Anchor carpet collection. www.amtico.com

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CDW Preview

Davison Highley Davison Highley will bring innovative, contemporary style this Clerkenwell Design Week with the launch of a new sofa and chair range.

Eevie is inspired by global trends in hospitality design, bringing boutique hotel chic to the workplace. CDW will also see the official launch of Bertie – a lightweight movable stool weighing under 5kg, featuring a stylish leather handle – and Chime, an extension of the successful Bloid seating, now reimagined as a sofa, armchair and chaise range, with soft organic lines, designed to be placed in clusters to form intimate and luxurious collectives.

Casala Offering users security, comfort and innovation, the form and function of Capsule is inspired by a cocoon. Kateryna Sokolova designed Capsule to offer a stylish solution to the increasing need for concentration and privacy in office environments.

In large office spaces, Capsule is a stylish object that creates privacy without being completely cut off from its surroundings. Users can make phone calls or read without being disturbed. An additional advantage is that Capsule absorbs ambient noise, which benefits the acoustics in the space. www.casala.com

www.davisonhighley.co.uk

Cosentino With potential buyers expecting materials and fittings of the highest quality, from brand names they can recognise and trust, the new Slim range of surface coverings from Cosentino offers designers, house builders and developers a simple way to create an on-trend look without breaking the budget. Great for creating a uniform finish, Dekton Slim surfaces are available in slab sizes up to 3200 x 1400mm. Dekton Slim offers the same technical properties as standard Dekton, including a high resistance to scratches, staining and low porosity, all ensuring easy cleaning. What’s more, due to its thin thickness and ultralightweight properties, the Slim surfaces are easier to cut and transport, making it possible to save money on installation. www.cosentino.com

Umbrella

Edge Design Edge Design will be showing new and exciting collaborative and coworking products for CDW 2019.

During the event, Edge will be launching two new ranges, Open and Polka, with an addition to the Cicero range, which was showcased for the first time last year. Through a series of events, presentations and talks from architects, interiors designers and smart technology experts at its Great Sutton Street showroom, Edge will also be exploring the workplace of the future, where creative thinking becomes the principle activity. www.pledgechairs.co.uk

Following last year’s resounding success, Umbrella Furniture will once again open its doors as ‘Umbrella + Friends’. Key features include the Clair Sofa by Edsbyn, the GRID Sofa by Established & Sons, Viccarbe’s Quadra Chair and the Extinct Animal Collection by Moooi wallcovering. There will be a breakfast tour of all the settings in the showroom on Tuesday morning, providing an opportunity to see highlights from the Stockholm and Milan fairs. The Umbrella Talk, hosted by our very own Mick Jordan on Wednesday afternoon, will also concentrate on the development of the workplace and the products associated with its progression. www.umbrellafurniture.com

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CICERO Collaborative Chair

Design: Orlandini Design

WE THINK MORE CREATIVELY WHEN SITTING RELAXED.

THINK CREATIVELY.

EVENT SCHEDULE

For CDW 2019 we will be looking at how the office environment is moving away from purely process driven activities and in response interior design is now focusing on stimulating and supporting thinking and creativity in the workplace.

Visit our showroom at Clerkenwell Design Week 2019 to inspire your own design and creativity. www.edgedesign.furniture Edge Design First Floor I 21-22 I Great Sutton Street

+44 (0) 20 7253 7277

Clerkenwell I London I EC1V ODY

sales@edgedesign.furniture

WE HAVE DESIGNS ON DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY. Something new is in the air Products and solutions grounded in insight and understanding is what you’ve come to expect from Bisley. Fresh thinking and bright ideas come naturally in an environment with creativity at its heart. Our next wave of innovations are designed to inspire imagination and productivity beyond the traditional workstation.

Join us at Clerkenwell Design Week 21st – 23rd May to get a glimpse of what’s coming next.

www.bisley.com

Helping you work better anywhere

CDW Preview

Kvadrat Kvadrat Soft Cells solutions seamlessly integrate with a suite of complementary products. NODE coordinates building services devices, such as sprinklers, lights and speakers, into a family of circular nodes, which harmonise with the overall aesthetic of the project. Born out of collaboration between Fosters & Partners, Price and Soft Cells, the standardised size, look and infrastructure requirements of individual components and appliances has radically simplified M&E complexity, allowing architects to effortlessly integrate M&E systems into a design scheme. NODE can be seamlessly integrated into any Kvadrat Soft Cells solution, regardless of the fitting method, allowing for infinite creative flexibility of both acoustics and M&E systems. www.kvadrat.dk

Milliken

Wellbeing is at the core of Milliken’s design ethos; creating flooring with superior acoustic performance and exceptional underfoot comfort. For CDW, Milliken will be launching Comfortable Concrete 2.0, which uses the concrete aesthetic as its starting point but moves way beyond these origins with biophilic colours and forms inspired by the extremes of nature. Extensions of Milliken’s popular Clerkenwell and Colour Compositions will also be showcased, while there will be a ‘Chasing Happiness’ panel discussion, the Milliken Great Big Clerkenwell Design Week Quiz, as well as ‘writing for wellbeing’ and ‘drawing for happiness and wellbeing’ workshops. www.milliken.com

Arper For the 10th anniversary of CDW, Arper will be presenting its newest collections to the UK market.

Paravan by Lievore Altherr is a modular collection of sound absorbing panels to support focus, concentration and collaboration. With its combinations of graceful lines and graphic colour combinations, Paravan is ideally suited for lounge, coworking spaces and contract use. The sculptural form of the collection is amplified by Paravan Mood. This set of accessories is designed to collect and display personal items and objects of inspiration, adding a personal touch and an additional layer of personalisation. www.arper.com

Shaw Contract Throughout CDW 2019, Shaw Contract will be exploring the way people interact and move within spaces under the collaborative theme of FLOW. Alongside a series of installations, talks and workshops, visitors will also get to experience new and innovative products, including Concrete + Composed – a Rigid Core LVT Collection for the UK, European, Middle East and Africa markets.

Textured concrete meets rich wood grain in this collection for modern, eye-catching interiors.

Concrete + Composed offers four textured concrete tones in a 47 x 61cm tile size for Concrete, and 10 rich wood grain tones in a 18 x 122cm plank for Composed. www.shawcontract.com

Morgan Morgan will be launching two new collaborative projects, combining refined skills and expertise at CDW. The architectural Rakino collection, by designer Tim Rundle, juxtaposes soft sculpted upholstery with a strong, low line frame. The clean linear structure emphasises crisp timber detailing born from a dialogue between the precision of CNC manufacturing and a handcrafted finish.

Morgan has also collaborated for a second time with artist Mark McClure to create a selection of feature coffee tables. The tables are characterised by strong geometric inlay tops with splashes of brass, combining Mark’s signature use of mixed material and graphic lines with the Goodwood collection’s sculptural forms. www.morganfurniture.co.uk

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CDW Preview

Connection Connection’s Great Sutton Street showroom will unveil a redesign, exploring emerging styles of work from coworking, focused working and social working spaces. Connection will demonstrate its experimental space design ethos through the use of furniture and technology, coupled with the fusion of materials and colour influences. Alongside the showroom redesign, visitors will see the launch of five new product ranges focused on agile working, movement and the use of environmentally conscious materials. www.connection.uk.com

ege Carpets ege’s Industrial Landscape collection has been created in collaboration with esteemed designer, Tom Dixon. As an eternal source of inspiration, the collection mirrors historic London, with the raw, rough, elements that made up the city. The stunning new designs, Coal and Iron, interpret important pillars of the Industrial Revolution: Coal, the dark and mysterious substance that powered the age. Iron, the metal surface generates a random-hued patination.

The designs, available in broadloom and tile, are EN1307 compliant and suitable for multifunctional spaces. The tiles include the patented Ecotrust felt backing, an innovative production technique turning used water bottles into a durable PET felt. www.egecarpets.com

Knightsbridge CDW will be the launchpad for Knightsbridge Furniture’s 80th birthday celebrations. The stand at Project (PA8) will draw influence from wellbeing in the workplace, teamed with agile and collaborative workspaces.

The Coupe collection pays homage to the elegance of art deco, with beautiful scallop detailing, while Caravelle has been relaunched from the archives. The collection consists of an armchair and sofa, which is designed around a past mid-century collection and would sit perfectly in the modern workplace. Visitors to the stand are also invited to enter a digital smartboard competition, where the winner will get to design their own piece of furniture. www.knightsbridge-furniture.co.uk

Ocee Design Ocee Design will proudly present its increasing portfolio of furniture designs at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week. With a range of new collections, the showroom promises to tell a story that will inspire.

Highlights will include iconic classics from the mid-century Ernest Race Heritage Collection, the latest in Scandinavian modular furniture, FourLikes, and the EcoLabel collection. Ocee will present how exceptional environments can be created using a combination of products from their international portfolio. www.oceedesign.com

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Roger Lewis Leading furniture designer and maker, Roger Lewis, has teamed up with HASSELL, Peldon Rose and Tribe Furniture to launch its ‘industry first’ bespoke offering – the Customiser app – at CDW. The three companies are the first to use the cutting-edge technology that enables designers to create tailor-made pieces for clients. Each team has been tasked with developing a completely unique design. Once created, the artwork will be printed onto the finest fabric, before being expertly hand-upholstered on the popular Roger Lewis Sintra chair. Following an exclusive unveiling ceremony, the three creations will go head to head, with visitors encouraged to vote for their favourite! www.rogerlewis.uk

NOVUS T R A N S FO R M I N G S PAC E S

The workplace is evolving.

Frem invite you to their London showroom this Clerkenwell Design Week to experience the exclusive, new Novus Collection for yourself.

20-24 Kirby Street, London, EC1N 8TS.

www.frem.co.uk

Crafting furniture for 80 years 1939 - 2019

Knightsbridge Furniture 191 Thornton Road Bradford BD1 2JT 01274 731900 sales@knightsbridge-furniture.co.uk www.knightsbridge-furniture.co.uk

CDW Preview

Sven Say hello to Happy Rocker and a cornucopia of new designs at Sven’s inspirational Charterhouse Street Design Studio. Visitors can see beautiful, innovative furniture and learn how Sven’s combination of traditional craft skills and leading-edge machinery allows unique flexibility in meeting client needs.

Established in 1974, Sven is a British designer and manufacturer of high-quality classic and contemporary office furniture, seating and workplace solutions for the fast-evolving workplace environment. www.sven.co.uk

Materia Materia will launch Alto at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week. Designed by Mattias Stenberg, Alto’s unique character is its seating height (630mm), which is unusual for an easy chair/sofa range, adding a sense of poise and standing. It is a flexible range, including an easy chair, two-seater, three-seater and corner sofa, allowing you to combine different numbers of seats into a larger group, ideal for receptions, breakout settings, offices and café spaces.

You can view Alto and meet the designer Mattias Stenberg at parent company Kinnarps’ Turnmill Street showroom throughout the week. www.materia.se

Senator Senator is set to make a major impact at this year’s Clerkenwell Design Week as it unveils five new products. Senator is consistently pushing the boundaries in terms of innovation, functionality and design. This means its products stand out in a busy marketplace and stay relevant in a consistently changing environment. And with its space planning service, led by Adrian Campbell, who will launch his book – ‘It’s All About Me’ – at CDW, Senator offers the complete workspace design package. The Senator range includes products created by its expert in-house design team and some of the most influential designers across the globe. www.thesenatorgroup.com

modulyss Premiering the perfectly imperfect pattern of the Fluid& carpet tile collection, modulyss will be exhibiting in Project at this year’s CDW. Possessing a wonderful sense of fluidity and movement, Fluid& is a progression of the mix and match approach to coordinated carpet tile collections, bringing designers an elegant flooring solution.

Demonstrating the design depth and technical innovation found throughout its collection, modulyss will also present comfortBack, enhancing the life of carpet tiles while making them quieter and more comfortable. You’ll also be able to discover modulyss’ sustainable initiatives, including membership of Healthy Seas, CO2RE and the use of ECONYL regenerated yarns. www.modulyss.com

Ultrafabrics Ultraleather|Geom is a curated collection of colours brought to life with dimensional texture. Unique to the Ultraleather brand family, this new offering features a small-scale pattern reminiscent of sculpted honeycomb. With its unique tactility, the sleek grain is a delight for the senses and maintains the soft, supple hand exclusive to all Ultrafabrics. Geom is an intelligent, high-performance Ultrafabric, meticulously designed to provide designers with versatile options across all markets and applications. www.ultrafabricsinc.com

CDW Preview

Allermuir Clerkenwell Design Week will see the launch of a number of exciting new Allermuir collaborations, with Benjamin Hubert, PearsonLloyd, Jonas Wagell and, of course, the Allermuir Design Team. Furthermore, they will be offering breakfast every morning at the Fox and Knot Street showroom, while the afternoons will see a classic combination of soulful house music, curated by Ella Durston, and a carefully selected drinks menu. www.allermuir.com

Isomi Modular furniture pioneer, Isomi, opens the door to its Farringdon showroom for the duration of CDW, inviting visitors to discover its growing range of reception desks, storage solutions and seating from in-house designer, Paul Crofts. Working in materials such as solid surface, concrete, hot rolled steel, Paul creates flexible, practical pieces characterised by sculptural contours and authentic materiality. Classic Isomi collections will be on display all week, including Isomi’s iconic solid surface desks, Mono and Fold, the Assembled storage family and a new iteration of its endlessly configurable Mono seating, upholstered in coral fabric. www.isomi.com

Karndean Designflooring Karndean will return to CDW2019 to present its modern interpretation of a live hospitality space, featuring bespoke designs, inspired by the natural world. With a prominent and central position within the Project venue in the garden of St James, Karndean will reveal an inspirational and bespoke floor, created to demonstrate the versatility of its authentic flooring designs. Fleur Carson, Karndean Designflooring’s Commercial Sales Director, says: ‘Karndean offers a huge range of designs that will complement and enhance your interior design so you can create inspirational spaces that your customers will want to share..’ www.karndean.com

Gresham

Frem

To commemorate the 10th anniversary of CDW, Gresham has created ‘The Gresham Collection’ – a celebration of traditional, quality British craftsmanship combined with the flair of contemporary design. From Gresham’s extensive product range of office desking, seating, storage, screens and pods, leisure and breakout furniture, this collection has been curated to showcase an array of stand-out, inspiring pieces from the last 10 years, both new and old. The furniture combines supreme functionality, resourceful design and quality manufacturing to offer an all-inclusive solution to furniture requirements that not only creates a good environment but promote a great experience. www.gof.co.uk

This Clerkenwell Design Week, Frem Group invites guests to its showroom to celebrate its 30-year anniversary. The Group will be hosting a birthday party throughout Clerkenwell Design week as it looks back over the past 30 years and forward towards the future. Visitors will be able to let their hair down amongst an array of their latest contemporary furniture collections and some stunning new launches – including the new Novus Collection and a new addition to the Impressions reception range. All of the Frem Group team will, of course, be on hand to offer expert advice and a warm welcome. www.frem.co.uk

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sales@desk-buzz.com +44 (0)333 987 5161

SEE US AT CLERKENWELL DESIGN WEEK! Design Fields DF51 Spa Fields Northampton Rd EC1R 0DF

Review |

SELECTIONS

Cork in colour from Granorte Granorte, innovator in cork, has refreshed its Recolour collection of contemporary design flooring, introducing a wide colour palette and a glue-down specification, ideal for commercial locations. Layering cork’s beautiful natural aesthetic beneath a 28-strong colour palette from Pearl through Blush, Lilac and Olive to Slate Grey and Smoke, Recolour offers something very special for projects looking to break from the ordinary. In a unique extra-wide plank format, Recolour can be used to create striking floor layouts, mixing colours or presenting beautiful, flowing colour throughout a space. With a HOTCOATING super-matt finish, Recolour builds on cork’s aesthetic for a more natural appearance. www.granorte.co.uk

A take on Terrazzo from IVC The sublime terrazzo look of Mysto is just one of the 52 stunning decors available in the IVC Moduleo 55 Tiles collection. Commercial-ready LVT, Moduleo 55 Tiles delivers the look of ultra-desirable finishes without the everyday drawbacks; perfect for meeting the demands of busy work and hospitality locations. Designed and made entirely in-house for exacting control of quality from start to finish, Mysto brings incredible authenticity to its design, faithfully replicating terrazzo tiles in three colourways. With bright off-white, a mid-grey with daring ochre chips and a super-masculine dark grey, Mysto explores the depth of variety found in the genuine composite material. www.ivc-commercial.com

Inleaf installs feature air plant wall Biophilic specialists Inleaf recently completed a designer living wall – with a difference. Made from 50 individual tillandsia xerographica air plants, arranged in the reception space of a digital agency. Rather than being planted in soil, air plants take their nutrients from the surrounding air, with a little help from Inleaf’s maintenance team. Inleaf came up with the ‘digital to analogue’ design for the wall to reflect the client’s digital and marketing pedigree. www.inleaf.co.uk/air-plant-wall/

Completing the circle Creating a fresh new look for its offices and stores, Belgian supermarket giant, the Colruyt Group, has turned to UNILIN, division panels to help it complete the circle and repurpose its old retail and office interior fittings. The family-owned Colruyt Group is famed for its sustainable approach to retailing and is active in many initiatives, which positively impact its entire supply chain. 'Our current chipboard is 100% circular,' explains Specification Director, Christof De Poorter. 'Comprising 85% recycled wood, the remaining 15% is sourced from thinning and waste flows from the timber industry. We save an average of 5,000 trees per day and reduce CO2 emissions by some 1.2million tonnes a year.' www.unilinpanels.com

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Review |

SELECTIONS

Cork – one of the world’s most sustainable materials Cork flooring is a product of the circular economy, made using recycled cork stoppers and production waste. The process is so eco-friendly that all the products are low or zero carbon. Cork also counters global warming and deforestation, with trees neither cut nor damaged during harvesting. Quadrant is proud to pioneer the return of cork flooring to the UK and introduce a new generation of specifiers to this truly green product. www.quadmod.com

Creating another new workspace for the agile working environment The jensen-hut, from Verco, provides a new way of working for more focused individual working in breakout spaces. For those looking for the ultimate in acoustic booths, with an even greater degree of privacy, the jensen-hut provides the answer. Based on the popular jensen soft-seating sofa, the jensen-hut features a high acoustic surround, with the addition of an upholstered roof to create a fully upholstered seating booth for four or six persons. www.verco.co.uk

Perfectly imperfect pattern modulyss' Fluid& is a mind-blowing carpet tile collection that brings a bold splash of colour to commercial spaces. The collection possesses a wonderful sense of fluidity and movement, elevating the look of office and hospitality spaces. In a palette including luscious tones of ochre, green, blue, rust and grey, Fluid& is the newest addition to the coordinated &-collection. Harmonising beautifully with all products in the &-collection, the colour, pattern and textures of Fluid& can be used alongside Fashion& and Velvet&, for dynamic and unique layouts. www.modulyss.com

Unlocking the creativity of carpet With a choice of more than 300 colours, Antron Lumena carpet fibre gives carpet designers the potential to explore colour, safe in the knowledge that whatever shade they choose, it will remain looking good in busy commercial spaces. Antron works hard to ensure the available colours in its Antron Lumena solution-dyed carpet fibre give carpet designers the essence of a great design.

With palettes inspired by everything from the budding crocuses of spring and the southern Irish coastline, to the ornately decorated trams of Lisbon and the Emperor penguins of Antarctica, inspiration is plentiful. www.antron.eu

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The Last Word | Opinion

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Criteo’s Mike Walley reveals his hidden culinary skills and whets our appetite with analogies in the evolution of the restaurant and the workplace.

I

Mike Walley is Criteo’s Head of Workplace Experience EMEA

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may have mentioned that in a past life I was a chef (really? I’m sure I did). Anyway, in the 1980s, the style of cooking known as ‘Nouvelle Cuisine’ turned the food world upside down. It shook the established order to its very core. The idea was that food should become lighter, cooked more simply and presented beautifully. Diners would choose five or six small dishes to allow for a range of flavours, temperatures and textures to be experienced throughout the meal. Truly a feast for the senses!

Sadly, in the 80s, we were not as sophisticated an audience as we are today (what with every gastropub now offering a Tasting Menu) and, for many people, dinner was still a three-part affair – starter, main course and pud. Now, if you applied this thinking to a Nouvelle Cuisine menu, you were definitely going to need a cheese and pickle sandwich before bed. The other element of Nouvelle Cuisine that really took hold was the thinking around presentation. The idea was to make it beautiful on the plate so that sight could join the group of senses that were excited by the meal. For a number of restaurants, trying to join the movement without a deeper understanding of the principles, this meant one of three things…

1. A vegetable (usually a carrot) hand carved into something mind-bendingly complex, like the Taj Mahal or a Phoenix, perched on the side of the plate.

2. A slice of kiwi fruit.

3. Both of the above.

For a long time, kiwi fruit was only used as a badge denoting ‘This is Nouvelle Cuisine!’ No one actually ate the things. It went on everything. I was once served a pork chop with a slice of kiwi fruit on it! As for the decoration, should you ever want to render a chef speechless, just bite the top off his Phoenix and eat it.

The sad thing was that a wonderful concept was tainted by badly set expectations and poorly understood concepts, all inexpertly delivered. The phrase ‘Nouvelle Cuisine’ became one of derision. It symbolised highly decorated food in tiny portions, followed by a big bill.

I see a lot of parallels with the current rise of Activity Based Working in business. At its best, it is wonderful. An excellent way to optimise the volume of workspace required by a business whilst at the same time offering a range of

work settings for employees to choose from. At its worst, it is diabolical. Simply not enough desks for everyone to sit at.

Today we tend to go to our desks, dump bag, coats etc and go find a coffee. Then we come back to the desk, do a few emails and then go to the first meeting of the day. Back to the desk for a few emails, maybe a call or two, and off to lunch.

Back to the desk, a couple of emails then more meetings, then home. A little simplistic, I agree, but essentially we tend to use our desks as a bag drop, locker and focal point.

The objective of ABW is to make the whole office the focal point, not just the little circle around our desks. So, we create a gravity point, with coffee and lockers and seats so you can arrive, grab a coffee, dump your stuff, check your schedule and decide where best to go. We create a menu of different work areas with lots of different flavours, so you can focus, meet, make calls, drink coffee, work with others and chill a little, all within the same workplace.

The problems arise when people go into this type of space with a ‘Three Course Meal’ mindset – desk, meeting room and kitchen as the only three definitions of workspace. It will not work, you will be miserable and you’ll need more than a cheese and pickle sandwich to solve the problem.

The transition to ABW involves some of the most intense change management I have ever had to undertake. It takes a deep understanding of the human psyche with regard to personal space, fear of change and how we are validated as employees by our workplace.

But…done well, it also makes for some of the most fun workplaces on the planet.

A word of warning, ABW is more than desk sharing and desk sharing alone is not ABW. Users need to be educated about the main principles and encouraged to see the entire office as ‘their space’ and not to base their entire day around a desk. They need to be part of the planning and design of the space, and you need data about what people need to do in the space. Lots of data. Then you build your space to fit the data. Then, and this is the really important bit, you need to explain it to everyone. Really explain it!

So having done all that, it is time to stand back and watch how it is received. Hopefully, like a good meal, it will surprise and delight in equal measure.

Just wait until they see what’s for pudding!w

Martin*

Designed for Real People

*Great things are

never done by just one person...

+44 (0) 1494 448 000

www.verco.co.uk

Clerkenwell Design Week, 21-23 May. Visit us at our London showroom during Clerkenwell Design week.

99 Charterhouse Street, Clerkenwell.

Connecting Power, People and Organisations