Mix Interiors 211 - April 2021

Mix Interiors 211

April 2021

KLYRO S T Y L I S H . E L E G A N T. I C O N I C .

DESIGNERS & MANUFACTURERS OF WORKSPACE FURNITURE

www.gof.co.uk

Contents INSIGHT 8 UPFRONT The latest news from the world of commercial interior design 14 SEVEN Dams Furniture offer seven steps to shaping the new workplace

26

16 AN ALTERNATIVE TO THE HUB-AND-SPOKE

PORTFOLIO In his 50th column for Mix, M Moser’s Steve Gale fears for corporate identity in the suburbs

62

18 PERSPECTIVE We chat with Co-founder and CEO of Modus Group, Toby Benzecry 20

MATERIAL MATTERS MCM choose their current go-to material products

22

DESERT ISLAND DESKS Jo Littlefair, Director and Co-founder at Goddard Littlefair

24

NEIL USHER Paradoxically Speaking: Leadership

ROUNDTABLE

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH BISLEY 26

THE ONLY WAY IS ETHICS Should we be sourcing products that are more local, original and can be proved to be ethical, sustainable and ‘good’?

WORK 32 PROPERTY

Is hub-and-spoke yesterday’s

news? David Thame speaks to

Fabrix Co-founder Clive Nichols.

36

CASE STUDY Morgan Lovell delivers a hidden gem at Lotus Park in Staines

42

CASE STUDY Inside Liverpool Football Club’s new AXA Training Centre from KSS

48 HOSPITALITY 48

CASE STUDY Red Deer redesigns iconic Spanish institution, Hotel Ercilla

52 PROPERTY

Six reasons to be hopeful:

why the hotel

development business

might recover quicker

than you think.

42

LIVING 58

CASE STUDY Tigg + Coll embraces the theatrical at Chapter Living Old Street

62

MODA LIVING: WELLNESS

BY DESIGN Who wouldn’t want to live in a building that actively makes you healthier and happier?

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THE FINAL WORD Criteo’s Mike Walley has noticed a growing war of words over the long-awaited return to the office...

58 Mix 211 April 2021 | 1

WELCOME

A word from Mick

Get in touch

I’m sure, like me, you’ve read a number of social media posts, blogs and articles from (so called) experts, suggesting that – with the majority of employees happy to spend the majority of their working week from home (some reports suggest that, in some businesses, as high a proportion as 70-80% of workers would like to work 2-3 days a week at home) – companies should immediately look to reduce their workspace.

Sounds reasonable, right? Especially given the pandemic-induced financial climate. It might look great on the balance books, but I believe these commentators are forgetting one major thing: people.

Okay, your team might be (relatively) happily filling out an online form from home, telling you that they don’t want to return to the daily commute and routine, but who’s to say they won’t change their minds?

A year ago, a big percentage of workers were complaining that they can’t (or rather, don’t want to) work from home. That has clearly changed as both they and their employers have adapted and adjusted. Let’s not forget that, with no workplace buzz and no after-work social scene, it becomes much simpler and sensible to work from home – why would you go to the office when there are none of those social perks?

With restrictions starting to ease and hospitality reopening, I think we’ll see a lot of FOMO and minds being changed.

Now I’m not saying that every business should throw out any plans of real estate consolidation. I just think there should be an air of caution. Flexibility in how, where and when we work is still key – and that means that we have the ability to, should we want to, change our minds.

EDITOR Mick Jordan mick@mixinteriors.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Marcie Incarico marcie@mixinteriors.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Kate Borastero kate@mixinteriors.com

The cover THE LOGO The design of April’s Mix logo weaves in the concept of thread. Symbolising the process by which a simple material, through different techniques and design, can be transformed into more complex, tactile forms – textiles and soft elements being one of the most fundamental materials included within the spaces we design.

WWW.TPBENNETT.COM

THE COVER IMAGE Choose carbon negative flooring: this month’s cover features the new Interface Embodied Beauty collection – designed to help restore the health of the planet and lower the carbon footprint of your space with style. The collection features a range of beautiful carpet tile designs, including Interface’s first ever cradle to gate carbon negative products in three unique styles.

COURTESY OF INTERFACE

HEAD OF OPERATIONS Lisa Jackson lisa@mixinteriors.com DESIGNER Tammi Bell tamzin@tamzinrosedesigns.com FOUNDING PUBLISHER Henry Pugh CONTRIBUTORS Steve Gale, David Thame Mike Walley, Neil Usher ADDRESS Unit 2 Abito, 85 Greengate, Manchester M3 7NA TELEPHONE 0161 519 4850 EMAIL editorial@mixinteriors.com WEBSITE www.mixinteriors.com TWITTER @mixinteriors INSTAGRAM @mix.interiors LINKEDIN Mix Interiors

Printed by S&G Print ISSN 1757-2371

Get your own To ensure that a regular copy of Mix Interiors reaches you or to request back issues, call 0161 519 4850 or email lisa@mixinteriors.com ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES UK single £45.50, Europe £135 (airmail), Outside Europe £165 (airmail)

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EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE Chloe Petersen Snell chloe@mixinteriors.com

VICINITY™ DESK SCREENS Design: Nook Colour: Gherkin

INDOOR OUTDOOR FLOW A new addition to our Cube™ colour range, Gherkin—an elegant jade green—conjures images of lush foliage and evergreen-studded mountains.

Inspired by biophilic design, this natural, grounding hue is perfect for nature-inspired interiors.

Cube acoustic panels reject the restraints of traditional acoustic panels, offering versatility and creative freedom in place of dull conventionality.

A sleek, high-performance acoustic material, Cube is designed to fit a variety of interior applications.

Scan the QR code to explore the new Cube colour range in its entirety. www.autexglobal.com/uk

Foundational flooring.

Inspired by flooring materials of our history, Rudiments is the all new carpet tile from IVC Commercial. With three textured patterns built around principles of strong design and excellent value, Rudiments is a fundamental carpet tile collection for the changing face of offices. Available with new EcoFlexTM Echo for up to 100% better sound absorption to enhance productivity and wellbeing, Rudiments is responsibly made in Belgium and stocked in the UK.

IVC Commercial at The Gallery Clerkenwell 21-22 Great Sutton Street, Clerkenwell, London, EC1V 0DY

ivc-commercial.com

UPFRONT

Liquid Gold

L

eading coffee supplier, Liquidline, and charity, Change Please, have come together to create a partnership. The two organisations are on a mission to reduce homelessness and change lives by selling great coffee.

Launched in 2015, Change Please started with one coffee cart in Covent Garden and has gone from strength to strength – partnering with global businesses such as Virgin Atlantic and launching sites in Australia, France, and Ireland.

100% of the Change Please profits go towards empowering homeless people with the skills and equipment needed to become a barista, providing training and employment with a living wage and support with housing, finances and therapy.

Not only are they doing amazing work, but the coffee is delicious too!

Change Please coffee has won multiple awards, including five Great Taste and Product Excellence Awards.

Liquidline is now distributing Change Please coffee and equipment to help more people combat homelessness and rebuild their future.

‘It’s with a sense of responsibility and a determination of making a difference that we are extremely excited to announce our collaboration with Change Please,’ Gavin Pooley, Founder of Liquidline, commented.

‘Never has the need been so great for us to consider how we can help those around us and the harnessing of Liquidline, together with Change Please, can now really make a difference to those in homelessness – literally one coffee at a time.'w

Topical Island

I

mages of a ground-breaking, multi-million ‘cohesive use’ scheme for Nottingham have been revealed, showcasing hotels, coworking space, apartments, green space and leisure facilities that will make up the project, which is the flagship of The Island Quarter development.

The first glimpse of the new images highlights such features as large archways, wide open spaces within the hotel areas and a large atrium to create a light and airy atmosphere for residents and visitors. Several aspects of the design have been created to meet changing needs anticipated in the aftermath of the pandemic, such as flexible spaces, relaxing community areas and green public realm.

Built on a derelict site close to the city centre, the scheme is designed by Jestico+Whiles, and will include a 223-room hotel, 247 residential apartments and an extensive food and beverage area, featuring a stunning bar, as well as a coworking space with 400 desks.

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Phase one of the scheme is underway

‘This design truly blends with Canal Turn and its surroundings. It is about placemaking, focused on a spirit of community, conviviality and collaboration,’ says James Dilley, Director at Jestico+Whiles. ‘The design we have brought

forward really reflects the synergy of uses that the wider scheme will create, and we hope will create a ripple effect across the entire site and across Nottingham itself.’ w

Form collection, Opal Hex

Form Guide

A

mtico has unveiled the nature-inspired Form collection.

Highly tactile and textured, the new hardwearing LVT flooring is designed to suit a variety of commercial applications, including hospitality, retail and office environments.

Form boasts 36 woods and stones that offer the charm and character of natural materials with the unrivalled performance of premium LVT. The organic, authentic palette and raw surface textures help architects, designers and specifiers create spaces that draw influences from biophilic design while contributing to positive wellbeing.

Form consists of three key textures: Natural Wood Grain brings the sensation, subtlety and impact of real timber with authentic grain textures in seven colours; Artisan Emboss Wood, a handscraped surface texture, provides a dense detail found in timeworn, deeply weathered wood, which is available 23 colours; and Ceramic Emboss offers a smooth, subtle surface texture that’s closer to fine ceramic and enhances the natural variations of Form’s contemporary palette of six stones.

To complement the collection’s natural beauty, Amtico Form is also available in four additional laying patterns; Parquet, Basket Weave, Pavestone and the exclusive new Hex. The latter is a sophisticated hexagon shape that showcases Amtico’s advanced cutting capabilities and accentuates the characteristics and tonal shifts across the stones, making each tile unique.

‘Form 2021 is a collection that centres on honest and natural designs – flooring able to lift the mood through organic interiors, Lauren Levy, Design Manager at Amtico, says. ‘With authentic colourways and tactile surface textures, we’ve curated a collection that brings the feeling of the great outdoors inside.’

Amtico Form boasts a high density 0.7mm wear layer, highperformance urethane coating, and a 12-year commercial warranty to stand up to everyday wear and tear, even in heavy commercial environments.

Form products are available as planks or tiles, which can be enhanced with an optional Amtico Acoustic backing layer to reduce impact sound by up to 19dB.w

Made with tomorrow’s workspace in mind The newest addition to the Dataflex product line, Viewprime answers the call from organizations and users for a monitor arm that offers maximum adjustability while taking up the minimum amount of space. High-quality workmanship and thoughtful design have delivered the last word in elegant usability. Viewprime ticks all the boxes.

Experience tomorrow’s monitor arm today.

www.dataflex-int.com

UPFRONT

Boardroom

Shark Tale Gymshark is one of the most exciting recent business success stories – having recently been valued as a £1B company, making it only the second British company to achieve ‘unicorn’ status.

A significant percentage of its turnover comes from the US market, prompting the company to establish a route into the US to support its American consumers.

G

ymshark’s Denver office, or GSDNV, will localise the company’s offering, enabling it to grow its business over the next five years. Oktra, the design and build company behind Gymshark’s locations in the UK and Hong Kong, has designed GSDNV and led the project from its office in Clerkenwell.

GSDNV includes a refuelling area for staff, complete with local catering, meditation rooms, rehabilitation or physical training facilities, dressing rooms and even a barber.

The workspace also hosts a range of spaces tailored to support the way Gymshark’s teams will be working, from café-style informal meeting lounges to open agile workspace, meeting rooms and an ideation room with entirely writable walls for real-time innovation and collaboration.

‘The opening of GSDNV is the latest milestone on this incredible Gymshark journey,’ says Paul Richardson, Executive Chairman of Gymshark. ‘Culture and community flows through everything we do and stand for. That’s why, alongside the guys

10 | Mix 211 April 2021

at Oktra, we’re delighted to have built a US headquarters that echoes what we stand for but has its own identity.’

Featuring urban materials like sealed concrete flooring, suspended ceiling rafts and mesh, the workspace is indicative of Gymshark’s UK and Hong Kong locations – even creating a direct replica of its UK boardroom, incorporating part of the company’s home within its newest location.

However, GSDNV also has an identity all its own – a fusion of the brand and the surrounding area. ‘It’s bold and brave as an approach,’ explains lead designer, Sean Espinasse. ‘This workspace is going to fuel Gymshark’s growth by giving them a home: it’s about connecting people. It’s a space for people to congregate but it’s also a flexible environment. The dynamic nature of the design is what will enable Gymshark to grow.’

Users progress from a dramatically low-lit reception and meet and greet area, through to increasingly brighter spaces as they move deeper into the office and simultaneously

closer to the building’s perimeter, eventually met with pristine white workspaces and striking views of both downtown and mountains. ‘The light in Denver is unique and it amplifies the contrast inside the space that makes it a particularly striking design,’ adds Sean.

One of the most impactful features of the space is its lighting system. Smartengine intelligent lighting by WTech, first installed by Oktra in Gymshark’s UK headquarters, uses sensors to monitor surrounding levels of light and mimic natural daylight, keeping circadian rhythms intact even in the built environment.

The same sensors pick up information on space use as well, allowing Gymshark to monitor office occupancy and efficiency while cutting energy use by 90%.

The new office provides Gymshark’s teams with the resources they need to further their growth in the American market, and it signals a similar period of transformative change for the surrounding area as Denver emerges as one of the world’s newest business capitals.w

Victoria Lines

W

orkspace provider, LABS, and architect, Hutchinson & Partners, have worked with TSK Group to carefully restore the 200,000 sq ft Victoria House in Bloomsbury, the result being one of London’s newest and most exciting workplace and lifestyle destinations.

Creating a harmonious bridge between these two significant styles, a new modernised layer has been added to the space, with a carefully curated palette of complementary and elegant natural materials.

Portland stone columns reveal an impressive entrance hall, carved in a neoclassical style from Subiaco marble and Italian travertine. A terrazzo staircase and triple height central hall sit at the heart of Victoria House: LABS and Hutchinson & Partners have replaced the floating glazed platform introduced by Will Alsop in the 2000s with a monolithic terrazzo alongside roughly hewn travertine slabs.

The upper floors have been transformed into a series of stylish contemporary workspaces, with central timber tea points welcoming members. A series of libraries, nooks, meeting rooms, phone booths and informal workspaces are also housed

Photography by Ståle Eriksen

across every floor. Preserved offices, saved from the original building, sit in the northern corners of the building, complete with tumbled dice oak flooring, ornate carved marble, hardwood panelling and grand fireplaces.

LABS has also created a furniture collection exclusively for Victoria House in collaboration with British designer Fred Rigby – with the

collection focusing on ‘organic shapes and free flowing design’ with the pieces designed to overcome typical office requirements.

Victoria House will open its outdoor roof terrace and contemporary lobby bar this summer, bringing Italian coffee and aperitivi culture to the neighbourhood – one not to miss!w

.Transforming low-value materials into high-value furniture Bridging the gap between contemporary design, sustainable innovation, and environmental awareness, Planq creates stylish furniture by embracing circular design process.

www.planqproducts.com 020 7205 2803

UPFRONT

Works a Treat

S

et across the ground and first floors of a mixeduse development in the Paddington Basin, Paddington Works is a 15,000 sq ft coworking and events space designed by Threefold Architects.

The scheme comprises private studios, open coworking areas, meeting rooms, seminar space and an auditorium. Developed as a joint venture between Space Paddington and Westminster Council, Paddington Works offers high quality business space at affordable rents to local start-ups.

Informed by the practice’s ongoing research into the potential for wellness principles to create happier and healthier places to work, the space integrates innovative air filtration systems, adaptive lighting and shallow floorplates in order to allow an abundance of natural light into every room. The air circulation system brings at least 25% more fresh air into the building compared to other commercial spaces, and an intelligent lighting system adjusts the colour temperature of the light throughout the day in line with circadian rhythms.

The design creates a space for interaction and collaboration, with ‘clusters’ intended to create smaller communities or neighbourhoods within the wider workplace. Each cluster is centred around a kitchen and social space, and includes informal breakout and meeting areas, phone booths, meeting rooms, private studios and shared workstations.

Bespoke detailing throughout the space cleverly hides the more utilitarian office fixtures, subtly blending functionality and craft, such as magnetic oak flooring covering outlets and perforated metal covers discretely disguising the air filtration units.w

The auditorium

Reception space

Casual workspace

“

The design creates a space for interaction and collaboration, with ‘clusters’ intended to create smaller communities or neighbourhoods within the wider workplace’

” 12 | Mix 210 March 2021

Contego, Allgood

Handling the Pandemic

A

llgood has expanded its Contego antimicrobial copper alloy range. The fully-coordinated hardware collection – proven to kill COVID-19 in as little as one minute, as well as 99.9% of all viruses and bacteria – now includes new options for levers, pull handles, WC turns and other tactile items, using designs from its popular Mode and Modric ranges.

Contego is a vital first defence in tackling the spread of infection in any building and workplace. Already installed in healthcare environments across the world, including several of the UK’s NHS facilities, including Great Ormond Street Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital in London, the new, improved range is responding to accelerating demand from non-healthcare sectors for further products.

With the UK government confirming the steps out of lockdown, architects and building managers are increasingly thinking about the health risks associated with the workplace and other public spaces. Alongside established COVID-secure measures of social distancing, regular cleaning, and personal hygiene, the building itself has an important role to play in reducing transmission.

With the World Health Organisation stating 80% of infections are transmitted by touch, it is important to develop strategies to cut this to a minimum. One way is to introduce as many contactless access points as possible using automated, touch-free solutions for infection hotspots to help staff and visitors move around a building safely. Where this is not possible for practical or cost reasons, Contego provides a major defence in tackling the transmission of viruses and bacteria.

The key here is the copper; there is no better material for antimicrobial door hardware than copper as it is the only touch material proven to perform in normal indoor environments.

Copper never wears out and offers 24/7 protection, and is recognised by the Environmental Protection Agency in the US and the NHS in the UK for its pathogen-killing performance.

‘As we return to our workplaces and public spaces, tackling the risk of transmission within our buildings is of paramount importance,’ Alistair Higgins, Chief Executive of Allgood, comments. ‘The pandemic has seen a number of new building products launched that promise to make people safer by killing COVID-19. Some of these products, like Contego, do so. Many do not. It is vital that evidence is provided to prove that a product has antimicrobial performance in typical indoor conditions.’w

London Showroom 25 Bastwick Street, Clerkenwell, EC1V 3PS

sixteen3.co.uk

UPFRONT Seven

7

The changing nature of the workplace

steps to shaping the new workplace

There’s no going back to the way things once were – we all know that.

Here, Simon Howorth, Marketing Manager at Dams Furniture, offers seven key pointers to ensuring the post-pandemic workplace is a successful one, showing how furniture can play a key role.

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1

The future office The world has, of course, experienced widespread disruption over the past year as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the successful development and distribution of a COVID-19 vaccine, the timeline for when the so-called next normal will arrive is clearer. Companies need to begin to take steps to consider what the workplace will look like when it arrives.

There is no going back to the pre-pandemic workplace – businesses and individuals have no choice but to discover new ways of working.

UPFRONT Seven

2

The changing nature of the workplace

3

What employees expect from the office

4

The wellbeing of employees in the workplace is becoming more vital, and office furniture can play a huge part in helping to keep people happy and healthy when they’re working. There is no single type of optimal work setting to suit everyone. Instead, it’s about balance. Companies that don’t provide workers with the types of spaces they need to manage the demands and intensity of work will find that this can have a negative impact on employee wellbeing.

While health and safety were the top motivators for sending employees home to work at the start of the lockdown, health and safety concerns will also impact the return to the office.

The future office needs to serve as a hub for productivity, collaboration, socialising, and in-person connectivity. There still needs to be a space for focused work, calls or video meetings, but this can’t override the desire for collaboration or replace the social aspect to the working day.

Planning considerations We may work in new ways and in new spaces but some things never change. We all need connection with other people, comfort and flexibility. Employees choosing to work from home will cause office footprints to shrink, so there will be a trade-off between working from home and having a dedicated desk. Businesses will also need to consider the potential for reduced office occupancy, which has ramifications for how much office space they need, and what types of workspaces they offer employees.

5 6

Adapting existing spaces The most effective and modern office spaces are characterised by division into different zones that support employees as they perform particular tasks. An office should be adjusted to employees, not the other way round, to accommodate new ways of working. Enhancing existing products and blending new solutions into the workplace with screens and dividers will negate the need to reconfigure existing spaces by applying appropriate distance between people.

New, defined spaces Employees will need spaces designed for collaborative meetings, areas for agile working, opportunities to relax, as well as places to escape to focus on individual tasks, and businesses can design physical workplaces to support it.

Different office configurations could be employed depending on whether a group is brainstorming, hosting a training session, or conducting a daily meeting. Biophilic experiences can reduce stress, improve health and wellbeing and enhance mood and creativity.

7

Shape the future of work Re-thinking the workplace also opens up new opportunities for re-thinking the workforce and, ultimately, work itself.

The workplace and work of the future will be fundamentally different as a result of the pandemic. Leaders must learn to continually re-invent the future of work, and now is the time to begin discovering how to bring that future about. Whatever that looks like, we will work with you to make sure your employees feel safe, healthy, and are comfortable in their place of work.w

DAMS Avalon swivel pods

Mix 211 April 2021 | 15

UPFRONT Steve Gale

An alternative to the hub-and-spoke portfolio In his 50th column for Mix, Steve Gale fears for the corporate identity in the suburbs.

Steve Gale is Head of Workplace Strategy at M Moser Associates.

SteveG@mmoser.com 16 | Mix 211 April 2021

T

he future of a blended workplace, or a virtual hybrid model, is no longer a novelty in our industry. We are used to a consensus around a 3/2 pattern of working, in which people split their days between home (or a remote location) and the office.

But it’s not for everyone.

Out of the UK’s 30 million working people, only about 4 million are office based, and plenty of these don’t find the idea of remote working very attractive.

On top of this, it will not be on offer for all office workers anyway. For example, David Solomon, the CEO of Goldman Sachs, is calling for people to return, saying that remote working is ‘an aberration that we’re going to correct as soon as possible’.

So, will these changes in working patterns for a minority of employees make any lasting difference to real estate portfolios?

Many landlords are pricing in an expected demand reduction for space in the inner city areas, with some anticipating a 40% drop. At the same time, many predict an increasing demand in outer areas – the overlooked swathes of suburbia – which are the places where most office workers live.

Nick Bloom, a Professor of Economics at Stanford, has been studying home working for over a decade and sees the increased popularity of suburban offices as simply ‘the new reality’. A joint study by the Instant Group and Hickey Associates, experts in workplace and real estate locations respectively, concludes that demand for suburban office space will quickly outstrip supply. Their study, called ‘The Rise of Suburbia’, builds on the concept of the ‘hub-and-spoke’ model, where a smaller head office survives, but non-core

parts are distributed to lower rent areas where employees live, mainly in the suburbs.

Some see this model as a win/win: organisations save money while employees gratefully attend nearby offices when not working at home. No more long commutes.

Satellite offices are not new, but they can easily feel like second tier locations, even if they are more convenient. How does this help to recruit the best talent, and nurture a unique culture?

The business logic does not quite square with the emotional clockwork. What does it look like from the user’s end of the telescope? Will ambitious employees settle for an outlying office as their base?

And will divergent tribes develop across the multiple locations? The suburban offices carry management and investment risks, as well as subtle messages about the organisational structure.

It might be better to decouple remote sites from the organisation, so working locally is either from home or a third party location like a café or an unbranded serviced office. Commuting to work would still be to a city centre office with a superb environment and great facilities, but it would be much less frequent.

Employees appreciate less commuting, but they also value the energy, identity and integrity of their organisation. Suburban offices risk diluting this powerful cocktail.

Footnote: Today (30th March) the Corporation of the City of London announced it has already received a volume of office planning applications equal to 80% of all those posted in the last calendar year.w

AlphaFX

Perspective Having enjoyed almost 30 successful years as the Co-founder and CEO of Modus Group, Toby Benzecry tells us about his journey, Modus at 30 and how he sees the future of the market.

Hi Toby. How are you?

I’m very well, thank you. All the better for having received my first dose of the vaccine some time ago – privilege of age.

Please briefly tell us about how you started your career in the design industry.

I studied engineering at Cambridge and specialised in manufacturing. Out of university I was hired as a production engineer in an electronics factory that made aeronautical equipment. I guess my first spaceplans were of assembly lines. In my mid-20s I joined a management consultancy firm, but within three years or so I realised that I needed to do my own thing. I left them to start my own business, providing strategic advice to companies going through some kind of transition. One of those was an architectural practice, and that’s really where it all started. It was 1990.

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What led you to start Modus?

In late 1990, through my architectural connections, I was asked to get involved in the relocation of a large company in London – acting as a consultant to help them manage their transition. The project made me very interested in how this business might perform differently in its new space, and whether it was possible to tell in advance what the effects would be. In discussions with a friend who was a professional project manager, we decided to set up a business to help companies make the most of relocation events.

Modus was born in December 1991. Do the maths – we’re 30 this year!

Initially, we only intended to act as a consultancy, but our clients really wanted to be able to procure their entire projects from us, so we hired a designer and within months had become a contractor. By the end of 1992 we were a design and build fit-out company – although I’m not sure we thought of ourselves like that. To be honest, I’m still not sure – once a consultant…

UPFRONT Perspective

What do you feel sets Modus apart from the rest? What’s the secret behind the longevity and continued industry recognition?

This is a really interesting question and I’m flattered that you feel that there is something different about us; and indeed, that we’re generally recognised as standing somewhat apart. I think this must start with the prevailing culture of the business, which I suppose reflects my own personality and values, and those of my longest-standing colleagues. Since we hire in our own likeness (thankfully not literally), these value-sets become persistent.

Because of our roots in consultancy and design, our approach is much closer to what you would expect of an architectural practice that had decided to become a contractor. We are not transactional in any respect; we want to do work that we’re proud of and for clients who will come back time and time again. We say to people we hire that they should join us to do their best work; and we genuinely mean it – we will not sacrifice standards for profit. As a result, we’ve been working with some customers for almost 20 years, and our level of repeat business means that we have the smallest sales team in the industry for a company of our size.

Please tell us about your Tenant-Ready programme.

Recent years have seen a dramatic rise in the serviced office and coworking markets. We have been quite dominant in designing and delivering centres for these businesses in the UK since the early 2000s. Companies come to us because we understand their drivers and know how to operate within frameworks. Our mantra is that if we make a client’s centre more successful, they will sell the space more quickly and then buy more from us. It’s simple.

Tenant-Ready is our term (it actually is – we trademarked it) for pre-fitted space; it could be provided by an operator or a landlord – the key thing is that the tenant doesn’t use their own capital and the installation could see a number of different occupants, and therefore needs to last. We have assembled a team that specialises in this sector and can deliver large, complex projects throughout the UK and Europe, at speed. We go far beyond the usual role of D&B contractor by getting involved in everything from initial brand positioning to boosting the space on our own social media channels.

SLG offices

This might be a silly question, but how are you finding the market right now?

Last year the pandemic was hugely disruptive to normal markets and the occupier Cat B sector is still very quiet. Landlords have been investing throughout however, and operators with liquidity have seen an opportunity for a land-grab. Some large multi-site occupiers are using this period to carry out workplace transformation projects that would otherwise be highly disruptive. In the last few weeks, we’ve seen a marked upturn in enquiries, so – barring unforeseen setbacks, such as vicious new variants – things are definitely getting better.

How has the pandemic affected Modus?

I decided after the credit crunch to put as much into the balance sheet as possible when the sun shines, in case of another rainy day. It’s been quite wet recently, but I get to sleep at night because of the reserves we’ve built up. I would not say we have been unaffected, but we’re also fortunate that we had a reasonable amount of contracted work to see us through 2020, and our order book in 2021 is pretty good. Our people

continue to amaze me with their resilience and dedication – we didn’t miss a deadline last year, except where it was physically impossible to get to a site because of high-rise lift restrictions.

Where do you see the future of the UK real estate/design market? What trends can we expect to see postpandemic?

Businesses have to decide how their physical space supports their brands, their cultures, and their operations. They should design and equip their spaces to suit. That might mean more collaboration space and fewer desks, but not necessarily. It might mean no change at all, or even dispensing with the office completely.

Companies should definitely not seek to redesign themselves according to the diktat of worker polls.

The office is certainly not dead, and I think that businesses are remembering why it was important that their people could congregate and collaborate in the same physical space – but perhaps not five days a week. However, this says nothing about who pays for the creation of their office – and this is perhaps the dominant driver for businesses like mine because it dictates who our customers are going to be.w

Mix 211 April 2021 | 19

UPFRONT Material Matters

MATERIAL MATTERS This month, two of MCM’s stellar design team – Senior Designer Liana Hill and Associate Terri Scott – choose their current go-to material products.

Storm Board HI (High Impact) stormboard.net The focus at Storm Board is turning waste plastic into a weatherproof and recyclable alternative to plywood. It is made from 100% waste materials.

Storm Board use waste plastics to produce a board that, due to its weather resistant properties, can be reused many times and recycled into another board at the end of its life.

Wonderwall Studios Ledger, Bog Oak wonderwallstudios.com

This tough general-purpose board outperforms its wooden contemporaries in outdoor and wet environments. The standard colour is speckled grey/black or speckled green, but the range also comes in a variety of colours and textures. It can be used in a number of applications, both indoor and outdoor, thanks to its easy to clean and weatherproof polyolefin skin.

Wonderwall Studios create wood panelling by upcycling salvaged woods from all over the world and giving discarded timber a second life. The panelling is also manufactured in the country it is found in, which cuts down on travel emissions.

The product – Ledger – is made from bog oak, which has been buried in peat bog for hundreds or thousands of years. The oak is protected from decay due to the absence of oxygen.

It’s the unique stories behind all of Wonderwall’s products that make them fascinating and intriguing to specify.

Buxkin - Ribbed Recycled Leather buxkin.com The recycled leathers in Buxkin’s Ribbed products are made from leftovers from the shoe industry. The Ribbed range is popular amongst our designers, as the product is very versatile and can be used on a number of applications, including wall panelling, upholstery and joinery. We regularly use Buxkin products, as they are both practical and beautiful.

20 | Mix 211 April 2021

Corkbee - Corkwall corkbee.com Corkwall is a 3D wall panel made from recycling a by-product from wine cork production. It is an environmentally friendly, renewable and biodegradable product.

It comes in a good range of colours and is naturally acoustic, which makes it perfect for office spaces, particularly meeting rooms. We have recently specified this product on a project, and it ticks all the boxes for a sustainable and unique wall finish.w

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Helping you work better anywhere

UPFRONT Desert Island Desks

My husband, Martin Goddard I couldn’t possibly not take him! He never fails to make me laugh and we always have great conversation.

Desert Island Desks Jo Littlefair

Director and Co-founder Goddard Littlefair

J

o is a designer-at-large for Goddard Littlefair, bringing inspiration from her travels into the studio and sharing her passion for new and exciting dining, dwelling and hospitality experiences. Her curious and observant nature quickly recognises coming evolutions in consumer, industry and design trends. Her particular focus is on delivery, ensuring that the essence of a concept has always been fully evoked and that all the softer details and touchpoints meet her exacting standards.

In 2019, Jo was awarded ‘Interior Designer of the Year’ in the Brit List Awards.

Bedding My beautiful silk pillowcase and a feather pillow. Silk is a material that is good for the skin and extremely relaxing. A good night’s sleep is so important!

My iPhone Because of the speaker! I couldn’t live without music.

I always dance around the kitchen, so I would also dance on the sands of the desert island!

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Sage by Heston Blumenthal Barista Express bean-to-cup coffee machine I don’t drink a lot of coffee, but when I do I want it to be a good cup! A morning coffee moment is something Martin and I look forward to each day.

UPFRONT Desert Island Desks

REN Clean Skincare ‘Clean Screen Mineral’ Sunscreen I’m trying to use products that are good for my skin, but always try to go for brands that use environmentally friendly and ethical practices.

A Kindle I can’t imagine not having a book with me. I always have a few on the go at a time. I enjoy the escapism of fiction, but I also love to read factual books. I often read about parenting and self-improvement. Cookbooks are a great way to learn about new cultures through their cuisine, and I’m also really passionate about environmental issues and practices such as sustainable farming.

Offering leather solutions, plus antibacterial and antifungal faux leathers for seating

Tracks for the juxebox David Bowie – Changes Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance with Somebody Groove Armada – Vertigo (album) Daft Punk – Get Lucky Celeste – Stop This Flame

Bobbi Womack – Across 110th Street w Automotive

Aviation

Healthcare

Hospitality

Marine

Residential

Workspace

Yarwood has you covered. www.yarwoodleather.com

+44 (0) 113 252 1014 sales@yarwoodleather.com

@yarwoodleather

OPINION

Paradoxically Speaking: Leadership

‘T

This month, Neil Usher casts an eye over our corporate bosses, and asks whether, paradoxically, it is our leaders who need to be led right now.

Neil Usher is Chief Workplace & Change Strategist at GosSpace AI, and Author of The Elemental Workplace and Elemental Change 24 | Mix 211 April 2021

here go the people. I must follow them, for I am their leader.’ So said Alexandre August Ledru-Rollin in 1848 as the revolution in Paris swept away the monarchy, restored in 1815 after Napoleon’s departure, for the penultimate time. There was a sense during the uprising that events were creating their own momentum, running their own course. We can perhaps consider that this is the case today in our rather less dramatic but formative era. The people have spoken: we don’t want to be forced back to the office for five days a week just because it’s there. The banner under which the people have been marching: hybrid. Half grey, for the office, half green for the fields, across which we’ll walk during an untroubled break for lunch while working from home. We’ll happily spend our time pining for one while sitting in the other – then reverse the roles the following day. It’s a cunning idea. It keeps us ever hopeful that tomorrow will be better as it’s only a day away.

Some CEOs are quickly stepping into the fray to claim leadership, declaring their intent, echoing the clamour. It’s a ploy, though.

They’ve found the perfect cover, publicly appearing to reflect the general will while hacking lumps out of bloated, half-occupied estates that have for decades eaten holes in both their corporate pockets and the ozone layer.

Like most cases in which the established order is overthrown on the crest of popular will, there isn’t a particularly well thought-out plan of what to do next. There are some key principles – namely freedom for individuals to decide when, where and how to work, with variable office attendance to suit and a trusting environment in which our value is determined by our output (what we produce) rather than our input (being seen and heard).

We’re still deep in manifesto country, though, holding our breath as the founders draft by blue light and aperitivo. In a matter of mere months, everyone will have been vaccinated through their tattoos and will be on their way back to recover their half-eaten snacks. We’re still struggling to know exactly how to reconcile less floorspace with the scary peaks and distressing troughs of variable, unpredictable attendance. So, naturally, we’ll look to our leaders for guidance. It’s what they’re there for. That’s where our paradox

emerges – our leaders don’t know what to do, so they need to tell us.

Meanwhile, in the consistently polarised world from which we’re supposed to form reasoned judgments, it’s easy to believe from the bubbles of social media that there are two types of leader – the traditionalist who doesn’t trust us and wants us in the office so they can watch us toil, and the enlightened, happy for us to do our own thing. As long as we do it. With the former, we could be forgiven for thinking that visual supervision is the sole purpose for which they were born.

Leadership is of course more complex than the LinkedIn vanguard will have us believe.

They’re ultimately responsible for the social cohesion of the organisation, the unity behind a common purpose that gives it life. The glue that holds it together. The glue that’s been dissolving for a year. They’re also responsible for the growth and development of their people, so that it has a future. Much of this comes from people simply doing their job and being in the presence of colleagues doing theirs. It’s not all training courses and scheduled events. When their idea involves the organisation predominantly returning to the office for the purpose of this cohesion and development, however, they’re lambasted. Not for what they said but because they didn’t say something else – hybrid. They didn’t endorse the manifesto. The one that’s still in draft.

While we’ve been staring at ourselves on web calls, wishing we’d checked our appearance before it began, we’ve thought mostly about ourselves. It’s natural, expected. We’ve thought about what we want – less commuting, more time at home (on Monday and Friday), more choice…

Meanwhile the organisation has atomised.

Yet every organisation is first and foremost a community. Not just our own, but all those around us we work with, too – clients, customers, suppliers, neighbours. It’s what we’ve missed terribly. Leaders are responsible for the community that rolls up to them. They need to listen to the voice of their people and determine the direction from here. It’s just conceivable, though, that if they decide they would rather you returned to the office that it could be because they care about you and your colleagues – by no means guaranteed, but possible. Imagine that.w

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ROUNDTABLE

The Only Way is Ethics Ethical sourcing and design guides how designers work with clients, colleagues, and the end users of products, how they conduct the design process, how they determine the features of products, and how they assess the ethical significance or moral worth of the products, that result from the activity of designing.

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e were recently approached by a leading industry figure, who suggested we should be talking about the sourcing of products – where products really come from, where the individual components originate, the IP of products, the production and manufacturing process (think human rights issues, fair pay, working conditions…).

So, in light of the fact that the pandemic has severely impacted on the lead times of products from the East (traditionally one of the major ‘selling points’), should designers and end users alike, be pushing to source products that are more local, original and can be proved to be ethical, sustainable and ‘good’?

And it’s certainly good to be back – back with colleagues and friends, back in Clerkenwell and back in the groove, discussing something other than the pandemic. With lockdown gently lifting, we’ve

taken the opportunity to partner with our friends at Bisley and (safely) gather a number of fine industry minds to discuss ethical design and sourcing at the leading British manufacturer’s brilliantly refreshed Dallington Street showroom.

We begin by asking our sponsor about what, historically, this means to their business.

Robin: We’ve had ‘Made in Britain’ for centuries now. At one point we made virtually everything that was being bought here. Over that time, Britain has been known for quality products and a huge history and heritage in manufacturing. It now hits home with a lot of people that the world is a lot smaller than it once was – and you can buy products from just about every country you want to.

Bisley is known as having one factory and one

ROUNDTABLE

factory only, stemming from Tony Brown saying that he wanted us to make absolutely everything ourselves – and not using off-shore production or subbing product out.

The issue, however, is that not everything is available in this country and, as much as you want to source small componentry in the UK as much as possible, rather than other countries, you can’t – because you can’t get every product here Tim: British design can still be quite industrial and utilitarian – and the design influence from other regions has forced a change. This means that some companies here in the UK have got to catch up a bit now.

Adam: For me, the distinction between made and assembled is possibly the most important point here. It’s very easy to say ‘made in Britain’ when really something is just screwed together here. If a product really is ‘made in Britain’ then it becomes something much more valuable – but that needs another layer to the conversation. Most people don’t really understand that something that is made in a factory here might actually just be put together here using Chinese components. I think we need to have that layer of transparency when it comes to whether a product truly is British made.

Michelle: I still get excited when new local brands emerge – and it is nice to support these brands. You know you’re getting the quality and the consistency. You are also able to actually meet the people behind these brands – and you then start to buy into their narrative. Your client can buy from these brands and be told the history and the

backstory. So, in terms of ethical design, you know their story and you are able to totally trust and support what they do and where the products come from. If I’m buying a product from overseas, I might not know about the backstory – and there are so many box ticking exercises and paper trails that are more difficult to source when you’re looking at international brands rather than local brands.

Tim: It’s still hard enough to find this on British brands, to be honest. It’s not always easy to get honest, reliable answers in terms of the supply chain. You might say that you’re a British manufacturer, but actually you ship your frames in from China and simply spray them over here!

I think that there’s another factor here – which is the Brexit factor. This has already had a significant impact on our industry. Import duties are an unmitigated nightmare for the furniture industry at the moment. That has a massive attraction when it comes to promoting British manufacturing right now.

I do think that ethical procurement goes much deeper than just where something comes from. It’s much more important to understand what social impact these products and brands have – this, for me, is just as, if not more important than where

“

It’s very easy to say ‘made in Britain’ when really something is just screwed together here.

” In association with

ROUNDTABLE

a product comes from. What does this product do that delivers something different to our communities? We’ve all been involved with big projects and the reality is we can be lazy when it comes to looking at where something comes from.

One of the most fundamental things about what we do as an industry is to promote stuff that we say is ethical – but we need to tick far more boxes and understand much more before we can truly say that what we’re doing is ethical.

It’s a little like sustainability: you can, of course, put a few ticks in a few boxes and say that you’ve got a certificate, but how deep do we really go when we look at what this really means?

Michelle: What we’ve started to do is to send a questionnaire that goes to all our suppliers and dealers. So, whether it is a carpet tile or a chair, they fill in this matrix, which has about 45 questions – and these questions go right down to things such as transportation and packaging, the whole story from start to end. We then have a traffic light system, where we score these products and companies. This is just what we do in-house right now – but you certainly don’t want to be on the ‘red list’ because we will simply move on to the next supplier. I do think it is the responsibility of the designers and the end users to ask these questions. I also think that we already know a lot of the answers to a lot of the questions – we just haven’t written them down and evaluated them before.

“

I do think it is the responsibility of the designers and the end users to ask these questions.

” Tim: I did a job many moons ago for a major British client in Salford Quays. They wanted to do everything via British suppliers. We also had a traffic light system, which asked several really pertinent questions. One British supplier had absolutely no information when it came to corporate social responsibility – and so initially scored ‘red’. What this did is to focus their business – to start shouting out that they did employ people from different backgrounds etc.

There are still some manufacturers out there who are horrendous when it comes to sustainability,

ethics and morals – but will all score ‘green’ because they are so good at ticking boxes. As a dealer, we’re stuck in the middle sometimes.

How do you balance that? I think, if you’ve been in the industry long enough, you can turn around and call people out. It is a difficult one though. It’s not acceptable to ship stuff in from China, in a plastic bag, and call yourself a British manufacturer. We have some amazing design talent and we’re brilliant at making stuff – we just don’t make enough of it, and we don’t make it cheaply enough.

Michelle: Do you think we’ll start to make more stuff post-Brexit?

Justin: I think that clients have to be prepared to pay for it. I’m sure that businesses like Bisley here would invest in this if people were prepared to pay. I was talking to a project manager recently who was saying that he’s seen much more activity in the past three months, but each of these projects are smaller and with tighter budgets – so it’s not easy right now.

There are certainly products out there that tick all those boxes, but clients just aren’t prepared to invest in them right now. I fear that this is where the buck stops.

Adam: I think it is starting to change. There are some much more enlightened clients out there, whose drivers are much more complex and sophisticated than merely financial drivers. I also think that the industry in five

28 | Mix 211 April 2021

ROUNDTABLE

years’ time is going be very different in terms of what procurement requires. There’s going to be carbon budgets sitting next to financial budgets.

Michelle: People are now much more aware – there’s a more informed generation coming through who will start to infiltrate and then, hopefully, lead by example.

Fiona: I do think that COVID has brought about an opportunity – an opportunity for people to change their mindset from what they were doing and what they had previously, to something potentially very different. That’s really exciting. It does take something monumental, such as the pandemic, to make us change in this way.

So the opportunity for a change in mindset and a real focus on people is there – we’ve all realised how valuable we actually are. We’ve all missed each other and can’t wait to be back together again. I think that, in terms of ethics, fair pay, equal opportunities and inclusivity, we have the power to push right now – and we should push. I think that if we do push and do include these things in our

tenders, then customers will see this and start to pay for it. It costs us all – those of us who are passionate about our work and about doing the right thing – and it’s so frustrating when you lose on price, even though you’ve delivered exceptional value.

One of the ways we’ve found we can add value is through a local model; where we can facilitate furniture reuse, rehoming and redistribution locally.

That might not make you any money, but at least the furniture goes on to have another life. There needs to be more of a circular model.

Robin: The problem we have is that we employ over 500 people, and so need to make 13,000 products a week to cover the costs for their livelihoods!

Adam: I do think that procurement is now starting to come from people who have more diverse backgrounds. We now have real estate professionals who, because they are much more diverse in their backgrounds, want very different things – and they also realise the difference between price and

“

We have some amazing design talent and we’re brilliant at making stuff – we just don’t make enough of it, and we don’t make it cheaply enough.

” In association with

ROUNDTABLE

value. I’m not saying that this means there’s going to be blank cheques for everyone – but the drivers will start to be very different. You simply can’t cost a job on a ‘per square foot’ basis any more. Everything is now much more flexible and fluid.

Tim: Until someone really starts drilling down into the furniture industry for proper answers, people will just keep ticking the right boxes.

Adam: We’re working on a project right now for one of the most high value brands in the world. They want to only buy second-hand desks and chairs – which is proving to be quite complex! This isn’t a money thing – they could buy the most expensive desks in the world, but they’re not going to. They’re prepared to take a risk – and you need clients who are prepared to take risks. Once they do it, others will follow. Our client also extended the procurement phase of the project so that we could source from a more diverse and inclusive supply chain. So, they’ve actually taken a hit on the programme in order to be more inclusive and diverse.

30 | Mix 211 April 2021

Conclusion: Things they are a changing – albeit slowly. There’s certainly a new generation of more diverse-thinking leaders emerging for whom box ticking exercises and a certificate simply won’t do. Maybe the pandemic has given us a pause for thought, and led more people to start thinking about value rather than cost, about community, about transparency and about their own impact and the legacy they will eventually leave behind.

Let’s hope so.w

“

Until someone really starts drilling down into the furniture industry for proper answers, people will just keep ticking the right boxes.

”

ROUNDTABLE

OUR GUESTS

Adam Strudwick

Michelle Wilkie

Tim Nisbet

Adam is a design-focused Principal at Perkins&Will, with 20 years’ experience in interior architecture, ranging from retail and branded environments, to corporate interiors and commercial building repositioning. He has

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Michelle joined tp bennett in 2013. She has worked across a range of sectors, from technology and communications, to financial services and hospitality design, with clients including Spotify, Investec, Sony Mobile, Deutsche

Tim is Founder and Director Phusei Ltd, one of the UK’s largest and most successful office environment and corporate furniture suppliers. Founded 16 years ago, Phusei’s clients include multinational brands including

Principal Perkins&Will

worked for clients in multiple sectors, including technology, financial and professional services across Europe, Asia and the US, ensuring design, innovation and quality of service are fundamental elements of every project. The driving force behind all his designs is creating democratic workplaces that are sustainable for the future and, keenly aware that, as a society, we are using too many resources.

Director tp bennett

Bank and Facebook. Workplace wellness is of particular interest to Michelle, and she is inspired to create spaces that encourage happiness, health and productivity.

Founder and Director Phusei

the BBC, GlaxoSmithKline, O2, AkzoNobel, Microsoft and Mercedes. Combining entrepreneurial drive, deep understanding of market trends and operational excellence, Phusei continues to grow, building strong, trusted relationships with buyers, specifiers, designers and manufacturers across the world.

Prior to founding Phusei, Tim spent 10 years in corporate life, including senior executive roles at Steelcase (USA) and Knoll.

Justin Houghton

Fiona Edwards

Robin Bayliss

Justin has over 20 years’ industry experience, a consistent track record of securing new business wins through a dedicated focus on delivering high-end corporate furnishings, working in tandem with blue chip clients to meet, match and exceed their needs. This has led to him rising to the position of Sales Director and shareholder in Herman Miller’s leading architectural accredited dealership, Workstation.

Fiona is passionate about sustainable workspace solutions – making it easy for every organisation to achieve positive environmental, social and economic results through their furniture procurement and workplace design. She leads a team at JPA who help clients take a more circular approach to furniture procurement in three easy steps: firstly, by maximising existing resources before ordering new. Secondly, by supplying Ska-compliant products wherever possible for least environmental impact and, thirdly, by incorporating redundant furniture rehoming and recycling solutions seamlessly into the procurement process.

Robin has been in the commercial furniture industry for 34 years, working in manufacturing, dealerships and for two successful start-ups. He started with Gordon Russell (later acquired by Steelcase Strafor), where he stayed for five years. He then joined Claremont as Director, before becoming the UK Sales Director for Allermuir, part of the Senator Group. Robin helped create two start-ups in the UK – BuzziSpace and IdeaPaint – before joining Bisley in 2017, being responsible for International Sales, and became Group Sales Director in 2019.

Sales Director Workstation

Sustainability Director JPA Workspaces

Group Sales Director Bisley

In association with

Hub-and-spoke is yesterday’s news While our columnist Steve Gale offers his opinion on the hub-and-spoke model (p16), one of London’s most adventurous office developers believes that the future of workspace lies in funky eye-catching corporate HQs and a vast spectrum of hospitality-based workplaces, from cafés and pubs to hotels and coworking. David Thame explores.

32 | Mix 211 April 2021

WORK Property

I

Roots in the Sky, Fabrix

“

Global businesses with big city HQs will still have HQ buildings, because they need a space to reflect what the organisation is saying about itself.

”

t’s too easy to have an opinion on the future of workspace: taking a view costs most people nothing. If their predictions are wrong, or their understanding confused, so what?

It’s just another point of view.

Unless, of course, you are a developer. In that case, a fascinating conversational topic becomes a matter of seriously expensive significance.

Call the market the wrong way, and it could cost you more than a shrug of the shoulders because building workspace in Spring 2021 comes with a massively inflated set of risks.

Fabrix is an unusual developer in that its roots lie deep in the world of private equity. This means its founders understand what it is to have skin in the game.

And this is why Co-founder and Chief Executive Clive Nichol’s take on the hybrid office and the plausibility of hub-and-spoke office networks means so much. If he’s got this muddled, he’s going to pay for it.

Clive is a former head of investment for a European private equity house, a former fund manager at Canada Life and an asset manager for Telereal Trillium. Since 2016, his business has concentrated on some of the funkier office districts of central London, carrying out value-added schemes with a strong creative vibe.

If there is such a thing as cutting edge workspace, Fabrix is producing it. Their portfolio of under-loved and now repurposed London workspace totals 2 million sq ft.

Is Clive worried that he’s sitting on an expensive turkey? Absolutely not. Fabrix launched the 25,000 sq ft Billiard Factory refurbishment at London’s Holloway Road a year ago and it is now 50% let. The latest innovation is to add a few dozen coworking spaces, operated under the landlord’s own steam.

‘The coworking is less about revenue, and more about capturing local people who are already in the neighbourhood and wanted a place to go for a coffee and a few hours

work, but I can see how it fits into new hybrid or hub-and-spoke ways of working,’ Clive says.

Adding coworking space to its Billiard Factory campus at London’s Holloway Road gives Fabrix the flexibility many developers now seek: to cater both to corporates and to more footloose working-away-fromthe-office employees.

Purchased in May 2017, the Billiard Factory campus totals 23,000 sq ft across three buildings, all arranged over ground and two upper floors.

Does close-to-home coworking have a role in the workplace mix of the future? ‘What we’ll see depends on the size of the organisation we’re looking at,’ says Clive. ‘Global businesses with big city HQs will still have HQ buildings, because they need a space to reflect what the organisation is saying about itself.’

Until now, that kind of publicfacing we-are-where-we-work development has been limited to the global tech players with pockets deep enough to afford it: Google, Facebook, Amazon. But Clive’s hunch is that this ethos will descend further down the business hierarchy.

‘We’ll see an emphasis on great places to work connected to the local community. The kind of places you would only normally see from big tech corporates.’

This is where bold visions – the boldest visions – have a place.

Revealed on mixinteriors.com earlier this year, the 385,000 sq ft Roots in the Sky development on the site of the former Blackfriars Crown Court, Southwark, is a case in point.

The project, which has been approved by planners, involves a 1.4 acre rooftop forest of over 100 established trees and 10,000 plants on top of contemporary and sustainable office, commercial and community space.

A lightweight hybrid steel and CLT frame, with the ability to support the urban forest – and its 1,300 tonnes of soil and 1.5m deep tree pits – is at the

Mix 211 April 2021 | 33

WORK Property

heart of the brief. This is placemaking with a vengeance. Work on site was due to begin as we went to press, with completion due for late 2024.

‘This is the kind of building that organisations will centralise themselves in, rather than in three or four offices scattered around the West End or the City,’ says Clive.

‘What we’ll see is people working three or four days a week in that office, and then at home or in their own locality, and various kinds of flexible working. I don’t see the need for spokes from the hub, because every hotel everywhere has an element of coworking.’

Multinational corporations will follow this pattern, he believes, with larger UK corporates adopting a scaled-down version of the same approach.

The hub-and-spoke idea, which dominated conversations about the workplace in the first few months of the pandemic, is rated as rather a low possibility.

Hub-and-spoke, you will recall, was an early effort to explain how office occupiers will cope with staff reluctant or unable to come into the main office simultaneously. The idea was that some would work in the hub, the rest dispersed around the spokes.

That idea has since taken a tumble, as it dawned on employers that they simply didn’t need everyone to come into any office, let alone the head office.

As March turned to April, and the end of lockdown began to concentrate minds, the list of large businesses planning to radically shrink or perhaps abolish their office floorplate was growing very long.

British Airways says it will look at selling its campus HQ at Waterside, near Heathrow. Reach, the newspaper publisher, says it no longer needs local newsrooms. BP, the energy giant, told staff they could work away from the office for two days a week; whilst HSBC

Clive agrees that hub-and-spoke is yesterday’s news. ‘In the very formal way that it was imagined, with a central office and lots of other offices elsewhere, the idea may have been overplayed,’ he says.

Instead, he expects more use of contracted flexible workspace, combined with working from home, from a hotel, or a coffee shop. Deals announced this spring with serviced office giant, IWG, appear to point the way.

Japan’s Nippon Telegraph and Telephone has become the latest global occupier to agree a worldwide tie-up with IWG, allowing its 350,000 staff to use IWG space wherever they happen to be.

The week before, Standard Chartered Bank agreed a similar deal for its 3,500 office locations around the world.

Rather than hub-and-spoke, we end up with a hub surrounded by a hazy penumbra of workspace solutions.

‘For the big multinationals, the kind for whom hub-and-spoke might have made sense, it now seems that all this model would produce would be an even higher reliance on real estate,’ says Clive.

And a greater reliance on real estate is exactly what office occupiers do not want.

Clive expects the hospitality sector to pick up a lot of workspace-related business.

‘I think we’ll see more IWG-type arrangements, although perhaps not as many as you’d think because most of the hospitality venues, which people could use informally for work, are now closed.

All that office workspace in cafés and hotels is not available. And when they are allowed to re-open, the cafés and hotels and other hospitality venues will really up their game.

‘When the economy re-opens, office users won’t be short of somewhere to work, whether it’s a pub or a coffee shop,’ he concludes.

Clive could be as wrong as anybody else – the future is, after all, a closed book. But he has a finger on the pulse of

expects to reduce their global office footprint by 40% as a result.

The consequence is that hub-andspoke no longer seems like a compelling solution. Why bother with spokes if you will hardly bother with a hub?

the office market, and a keen financial reason for making the right call.

If he’s right, it’s not hub-and-spoke we’re heading towards, but something much more diffused and complicated.w

34 | Mix 211 April 2021

Roots in the Sky Roof Garden, Fabrix

WORK Property

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Lotus flowers Lotus Park is a hidden gem in central Staines-upon-Thames. This Grade A office park is in a leafy, sought-after setting, right on the River Thames. Over 47,000 sq ft of commercial space has been built across three office buildings, surrounded by communal gardens and outdoor landscaping.

But with the increase in demand for flexible leases and plug-and-play workspaces, developer and landlord Legal & General felt it was time to make a change.

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CASE STUDY Lotus Park

The space has been transformed into something unique for Staines.

M

organ Lovell worked with Legal & General Investment Management to provide a Cat A fit-out at Lotus Park, along with engaging meeting spaces and coworking areas in the shared areas. The project redefines the quality a landlord can provide.

Morgan Lovell has completed a full CAT A refurbishment of 1 Lotus Park, which now provides 14,500 sq ft of office accommodation over two storeys. The bulk of the firm’s work in this building was on the ground floor, where first impressions are struck; it has remodelled the reception and fitted out a plug-and-play office, known as Legal & General’s The Capsule.

Before even entering the building, the stunning entrance deserves a little extra attention. Morgan Lovell made the most of the 8m high, pitched roof to extend the arrival experience upwards. The team designed and built a suspended ceiling with pendant lights hanging in the centre. This adds depth and layers to the overhead void, which is the perfect way to optimise a usually underutilised space.

The Capsule concept combines the benefits of a traditional lease and a serviced office to provide a flexible rental, negotiated directly with the landlord.

The workspace itself is fully furnished and ready for occupation. Morgan Lovell designed and built a modern and neutral open plan environment with meeting rooms and a kitchenette. Flooring, fittings, furniture and wiring for data and power are all taken care of. On day one, the only thing for incoming tenants to do is switch on the coffee machine!

Legal & General has gone over and above its responsibility as a landlord to offer an entire workspace experience at Lotus Park. Lotus 3 is perfectly positioned to take full advantage of its riverside location, with direct access to a garden that’s full of fun.

Here, Morgan Lovell built new pathways, installed a pétanque court and added a BBQ, patio furniture, branded deckchairs and a ping pong table. There’s even a flat, landscaped lawn for summertime yoga, picnics or BBQs.

“

Legal & General has gone over and above its responsibility as a landlord to offer an entire workspace experience at Lotus Park.

”

Mix 211 April 2021 | 37

CASE STUDY Lotus Park

below Open, flexible floorplates benefit from great natural light.

“

With the possibility that the building would not be let to a single occupier, and would therefore need a dedicated receptionist, we created a more informal business lounge rather than traditional reception

”

38 | Mix 211 April 2021

If the gardens of 3 Lotus Park aren’t enough, Morgan Lovell also stripped the entire building and installed new flooring, suspended ceilings, wall coverings, glazing and services. The existing reception desk has been wrapped with a stylish concrete-printed vinyl to give it a new lease of life, and a coffee lounge and informal working area have been added to the ground floor. The space is now perfectly prepared for a CAT B refurbishment.

Adrian Norman, Head of Design at Morgan Lovell, tells us that the firm had already delivered the refurb of the Lotus 2 building the previous year, developing the existing concept by Spratley & Partners. ‘Being a very successful project, we were invited to competitively tender this project,’ Adrian recalls. ‘Due to very tight timescales of the pitch, we partnered again with Spratley’s for the concept of Lotus 1 while we focused internal resources on the amenities and Lotus 3 refurbishment.’

So what were the hopes and aspirations of the client here? ‘The client aspirations were two-fold,’ Adrian explains. ‘Firstly, Lotus 3 needed to let the available suites – by face-lifting the reception and making the most of the riverside location we aspired to raise it – and the park generally – above the competition. Lotus 1 was a different prospect; we had to transform the tired interior into something special and unique to Staines.

‘Lotus 1 was pretty tired. It still had the previous tenant fit-out in place, making it feel very unremarkable, with its poor lighting, white square tile suspended ceilings and grubby carpets. The reception featured some awful artificial dark green stone wall tiling, coupled with an over-sized reception desk and an array of global clocks from yesteryear.’

Morgan Lovell initially worked collaboratively with Spratley’s up to the concept pitch stage (as

avalon Stylish swivel pod The Avalon soft seating swivel pod with 360° rotation reflects the change towards a comfortable, informal working environment. In open spaces, the tall sides and wings of these privacy booths create visual and acoustic privacy to support individual quiet time.

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CASE STUDY Lotus Park

one of four, Adam tentatively recalls). Upon securing the project Morgan Lovell took the development and detailed design in-house through to delivery with its build team. ‘Hollis was the appointed PM for L&G, and we had a comprehensive brief for each building from a technical standpoint, although aesthetically it was much looser.’

A key requirement was flexibility; the building needed to be able to be split by floor, and each floor into two. ‘With the possibility that the building would not be let to a single occupier, and would therefore need a dedicated receptionist, we created a more informal business lounge rather than traditional reception,’ Adam tells us.

‘Then, within the office space, we had to make things feel different.

Our initial concepts worked around three ceiling features, ranging from fully exposed services and creative raft ceilings, to more conventional suspended ceilings. Thankfully the raft ceilings were the preferred option and are the standout feature of the building.

The blend of floating rafts, plasterboard margins and flashes of exposed soffits and surfaces creates real interest. Creating parity between floors was a real challenge when working with the building’s 4m pitched roof above.’

The Capsule suite design also had to tie in with this base build concept – and the semi-industrial feel is conveyed with black framed Crittal glazed partitions, herringbone timber flooring and soft furniture.

above The space features a variety of work settings.

right A coffee lounge and informal working area have been added to the ground floor.

“

The design is very much focused on the post-pandemic workplace; trying to make it a destination office offering high levels of collaboration settings, private booths, touchdown tables and desking

” 40 | Mix 211 April 2021

CASE STUDY Lotus Park

bottom The semi-exposed ceilings are a standout feature of the building.

above The space features generous soft seating and great breakout areas.

‘Capsule is L&G’s occupier ready offer,’ Adam explains. ‘There isn’t a house style as such as each capsule sympathises with the building it’s in, although the common thread of modern design, quality finishes, materials and furnishings are consistent. The design is very much focused on the post-pandemic workplace; trying to make it a destination office offering high levels of collaboration settings, private booths, touchdown tables and desking. There are generous levels of soft seating and great breakout areas to entice tenants.’

What were the greatest challenges for the team? ‘Probably delivering this project through the pandemic – this was Morgan Lovell’s first order during Lockdown 1.0 and the site team and subbies did a fantastic job working with the new guidance for a COVID-safe site,’ Adrian reveals.

It’s time to let Adrian get on with his day job, but before we leave him be, we ask him about his own favourite element of the space.

‘I’m a sucker for details,’ he reveals, ‘and love the fluted ribbed oak panelling in reception against the contrasting black Vertigo pendant lights.’ w

Client Legal & General Investment Management Design Spratley & Partners/ Morgan Lovell PM & QS Hollis M&E KJ Tait Engineers Flooring Interface, Shaw Contract, Pyro + Echo, Tate Furniture Lammhults, Frovi, Muuto, Ocee, Herman Miller, Techo, HAY, Icons of Denmark, Orangebox Surfaces Autex, Newmor Wallcoverings, Solus, Dulux Joinery Howdens

Mix 211 April 2021 | 41

CASE STUDY Liverpool Football Club

Walk on Those of you who know us will not be surprised by the fact that, when our friends at KSS approached us to ask whether we’d be interested in taking a look at their latest project for Liverpool Football Club, we became ridiculously overexcited.

42 | Mix 211 April 2021

W

ith both our Ed and Publisher being massive fans of the Club, there was never any way we were missing out on this story (something our cunning contributors from KSS were all too aware of!). In fact, some of you may recall that the firm picked up the Mixology North Award for Leisure Interiors Project of the Year in 2017 for its fantastic design of the Main Stand at Anfield.

We’re not looking at (our beloved) Anfield here, however. We’re taking a look at the Club’s fantastic new training facilities at Kirkby, to the north east of the city.

The AXA Training Centre is located at the northern end of Liverpool Football Club’s existing Training Academy at Kirkby, bringing the First Team squad to this site for the first time.

Arranged over two levels, the building is divided into separate wings containing facilities

for the First Team and U23 squads, with shared space between. The state-of-the-art facilities include a full-size sports hall and gyms for performance training, medical, sports science and hydrotherapy areas for injury management as well as player dining and recreation, administration offices, dedicated TV studios and a press conference room. Externally, the building sits in a landscaped environment with three new external pitches and games areas for the First Team.

We ask KSS Associate Director, Debbie Power, to tell us about the design here at Kirkby. ‘First, the siting and orientation of the building within the expanded Kirkby site was carefully considered,’ Debbie says. ‘Creating the right relationship between building and pitches and, crucially, between the new Training Centre and the existing Academy was a critical step in creating a site order which responded

CASE STUDY Liverpool LIVING Football Property Club

“

The linear nature of the building presents the maximum frontage to the pitches, establishing a clear, natural relationship between building and playing space

” below KSS researched the latest trends in the workplace and education sectors

left LFC’s new facility lies to the north east of the city

to the Club’s functional needs and ethos for the new combined facility.

‘The linear nature of the building presents the maximum frontage to the pitches, establishing a clear, natural relationship between building and playing space. This composition also reinforces the separation between First Team and Academy, creating a private, secluded area for the First Team players.

‘The building itself is designed as a series of one and two storey volumes. Fenestration and the use of glazed areas to divide the façades provide a counterpoint to the linear nature and help to articulate these volumes.

A key feature was the use of double-height atria spaces on either side of the building to break up the building mass and introduce natural light via rooflights into the centre of the plan.

‘The Club’s values were interpreted in the building’s form and material language. A deliberately restrained palette of robust, natural materials with an inherent simplicity has been selected and crafted into a dramatic form that fulfils the functional requirements of the whilst also reflecting the strength and ambition

of the Club. Use of the Club’s colour is controlled – so when it is used, it delivers a powerful impact.

‘To ensure the facility is uniquely Liverpool FC, the Club’s core values have been embedded within the architecture, interior and graphic design of the building to create a cohesive and holistic approach.

Each wing has key references to fans, trophies, players, and song lyrics, integrated in varying ways, but all designed together as part of the user experience journey.’

So what was LFC looking for that the former training facility at Melwood did not offer? ‘There has always been a desire from the Club to combine the Academy and First Team on the same site, Debbie explains. ‘Melwood, although an excellent facility and an important part of the Club’s history, was simply too small to accommodate any further growth. It was therefore decided to consolidate the Club’s facilities into a world-class training centre at Kirkby to secure the Club’s long-term future.’

What are the unique challenges when it comes to designing training facilities? ‘Unlike stadia, training

Mix 211 April 2021 | 43

CASE STUDY Liverpool Football Club

centres are the day-to-day workplaces for footballers and coaching staff and need to be an inspirational and motivational environment,’ Debbie tells us. ‘Each club works in different ways and, therefore, whilst they have similar components, no two training centres are the same. This can depend on the philosophy of the current manager and coaching staff but also the latest trends in sports science and medical development.

‘It is our role to understand the subtle differences and design a bespoke facility that responds to the Club’s aspiration and values, whilst addressing site context, design quality and budget.

‘There is a balance between the different areas used for training, injury management and sports science with the offices for coaching, analysts and scouting and recreation areas for players spending time between sessions. Considerable effort is devoted into creating a building environment which works for all users.

‘The most important aspect is the external pitch space, which usually include a range of pitch sizes, both grass and artificial, with associated warm up and technical training areas. Most Clubs will also have an indoor training pitch.

‘Internally, facilities usually include changing rooms, medical suites, hydrotherapy spaces, rehabilitation and gym areas, as well as office accommodation, dining and recreation areas. Some clubs will also have education for younger age groups and press/media facilities.’

above Everything about the design is developed specifically for LFC

right Press and media conference room

“

To ensure the facility is uniquely Liverpool FC, the club’s core values have been embedded within the architecture, interior and graphic design of the building to create a cohesive and holistic approach.

”

44 | Mix 211 April 2021

CASE STUDY Liverpool Football Club

below LFC’s values are interpreted in the building’s form and material language

“

Everything about the design was developed specifically for LFC – and it feels that, when you are there, it could be no other club’s place of work.

”

We’re told that the journey to completing the AXA Training Centre involved wide-ranging global research, development and collaboration over more than four years.

KSS conducted a benchmarking review of training ground innovations and best practices in this country, across Europe and in the United States. This included visiting KSS’ designed Training Centres for Brighton & Hove Albion FC and Tottenham Hotspur FC – which is widely recognised as one of the top facilities in the Premier League. Liverpool and KSS also visited facilities in Europe, including Red Bull Salzburg and Hoffenheim.

‘We also researched the latest trends in the workplace and education sectors, and were able to use our extensive knowledge of the sports hospitality sector,’ Debbie reveals. ‘It was important to draw on other industries to enhance the experience

for everyone at the facility, whilst making sure Liverpool were getting the most up-to-date, modern environment.

‘We approached the project from several angles, initially through those best practice visits to other leading sport facilities with the client, to inform the architectural and operational aspects of the design.

This naturally helps to tease out design and aesthetic preferences. But it was our understanding of LFC – a long-standing client – that enabled us to essentially refine our environmental brand interpretation of this unique Club into a form that was more privacy and professionally focused, which created a more technically driven, extremely confident, interior architectural language.’

So what makes the AXA facility unique?

‘Everything – from the limitations of the site, which resulted in the dynamic building form that pushes

Mix 211 April 2021 | 45

CASE STUDY Liverpool Football Club

below The state-of-the-art facilities include a full-size sports hall and gyms for performance training

above The centre has impressive hydrotherapy areas for injury management.

46 | Mix 211 April 2021

and pulls through the centre of the landscape, to the robust and confident use of materials, the eye-catching details where the building bleeds red, to the embedded graphic applications that tell the Club’s story. Everything about the design was developed specifically for LFC – and it feels that, when you are there, it could be no other club’s place of work.

Finally, we ask Debbie to tell us about her own favourite element of the space. ‘I love the building geometry, the public and private views, the angular forms, the scale, the double-storey atriums…it is as impressive as the Club itself, which was the intention. Equally, the play with lighting, both natural and artificial, is stunning, with the natural lighting changing the ambience of the space, and the subtle artificial lighting accentuating the architecture perfectly.’

We might not have been able to have our day out in Kirkby, but we can’t wait to see the fruits of this amazing facility’s labours when we can once again return to Anfield.w

Architect KSS Planning Consultant Turley Project Management Legends Project Management, Contract Administrator and Quantity Surveyor Arcadis Building Contractor McLaughlin & Harvey Mechanical and Electrical and Structural Engineer Mott McDonald

AGILE

COLLECTION

by ACTIU

www.actiu.com

48 | Mix 211 April 2021

HOSPITALITY Hotel Ercilla

Basque in the glory International architecture and interiors practice, Red Deer, has completely redesigned iconic central Bilbao institution, Hotel Ercilla – restoring the building to its original glory as a landmark venue in the industrial Spanish city.

O

Reception photos: iban montero

riginally brought to life in the 1970s as the first purposebuilt hotel in Bilbao, Hotel Ercilla was the go-to destination for every celebrity visiting the vibrant Basque region. From the 1990s onwards, little work had taken place on the design, resulting in an incoherently brought together mixture of styles and influences.

Recognising the different values and needs of the contemporary traveller, Red Deer has consolidated the original 325 bedrooms into 285 and placed more of the focus on the social hubs of Hotel Ercilla. In addition to the rooftop lounge and bar, there is an opulent interior bar and lounge, along with a reception, an elaborate powder room, in rich blue and vintage gold, and a number of conference and function rooms located on the lower ground floor.

The bedrooms have been divided

into five types: Stylish, Stylish City View, Vintage, Vintage Premium and Suites.

Now reworked to its former glory as an iconic destination, Red Deer has interlinked the hotel’s heritage with a new concept: ‘Vintage Glamour the Bilbao Way’. The concept for the 13-storey hotel has been created alongside brand and design agency, 0120, who has created the visual branding for the revamped Hotel Ercilla and who, in true collaborative form, shares a workspace with Red Deer in its London offices.

Honouring the grandeur of the 1970s and 80s in all its brashness and eclecticism, Red Deer has created a colour and texture palette straight out of the era, transforming the previously tired building.

‘The concept was almost self-evident in the history of the hotel and the nostalgia the owners had for all the

Mix 211 April 2021 | 49

HOSPITALITY Hotel Ercilla

below Powder room bottom Colours and textures in the guest suites give a nod to the 1970s and 80s

good memories they had of time spent within the hotel,’ explains Red Deer’s Lionel Real de Azúa.

‘It was important we combine that pride in the heritage with their determination to have fun – so we just connected the dots to create a colour and texture palette straight out of the era. Ochre, crème, chrome, pink, burgundy and dark blue, vibrant splashes of tweeds, houndstooth and dogtooth were used to construct a bold geometric effect and reference Bilbao’s own strong trade history with Britain as an industrial port city, softened through the use of velvets and sumptuous faux furs in true 1970s style.’

At the heart of the project was Red Deer’s commitment to remain true to the concept, but with the added flexibility to achieve it. ‘Our longstanding commitment to sustainability was achieved through careful reuse and repurposing of existing materials and maintaining or restoring a significant proportion of the original furniture and finishes across the building, further celebrating the history of the site,’ says Lionel. ‘Negotiating cost and budget against the concept and Marriott Autograph’s design guidelines was the biggest challenge, but we’re used to (and adept at) working with pre-existing materials and getting the most out of what little we have to work with.’

Locally sourced oak panelling was added along with travertine (a form of limestone deposited by mineral springs) and an abundance of chrome. The new flooring in the bar uses woven recycled PVC, and frosted geometric globe lights throughout the building add an atmospheric, almost cinematic quality, that completes Red Deer’s contemporary reinterpretation of Hotel Ercilla’s past, using the furniture to make their mark on the project.

Located in the heart of Bilbao and within walking distance of the Guggenheim and Casco Viejo – the city’s medieval quarter – the

50 | Mix 211 April 2021

HOSPITALITY Hotel Ercilla

below The wraparound terrace provides near-panoramic views of Bilbao

family-owned hotel will attract both international guests and the local community, acting as a key social hub in the city as Red Deer intended, creating an iconic destination as we gingerly dip our toes into travel after lockdown. ‘The core features of the refurbishment are the rooftop bar and the ground floor bar – both of which are spacious and almost panoramic, so I don’t see these affected by the pandemic,’ adds Lionel.

Possibly the highlight of Red Deer’s design, the wraparound roof terrace on the 13th floor provides unrivalled views of Bilbao. With a lounge and bar operating both in and outside, the terrace looks set to become an unmissable destination for concerts, screenings and DJ sets.

While Hotel Ercilla undoubtedly has an unrivalled strong bond to Bilbao and its residents, the building also holds a deeply personal connection for Red Deer itself, as Co-founder, Lionel, who is of Basque origin himself, oversaw the redesign. Travelling from the airport to the hotel, Lionel would pass his

above Reception

Client Ercilla de Bilbao Architect Red Deer Andrés Iza De Le Torre Interior Designer Red Deer

family village – and so Hotel Ercilla acts as not just a homecoming for Bilbao but for Red Deer, whose passion for local design and history has brought it firmly back to life.w

Mix 211 April 2021 | 51

HOSPITALITY Property

Why the hotel development business might recover quicker than you think Nobody is pretending that the UK hotel development pipeline will start to flow again like it did before March 2020. But there are plenty of encouraging signs the hotel building business will bounce back. One year after the pandemic began, Mix offers six reasons to be hopeful.

52 | Mix 211 April 2021

HOSPITALITY Property

Plans for the Leonardo Hotel, Manchester, designed by NoChintz. image: our studio

T

he UK hotel property sector ought to be a hopeless case. Developers ought to be having meltdowns, investors ought to be running for the hills, and operators – well, your heart goes out to them. After a year in which England has been in full national lockdown for 195 out of the first 365 days of pandemic – that’s 53% of the year – what is there to cheer about? And,

after a deal with Vita Group/Bruntwood for their Circle Square scheme. They are, meanwhile, scouring the Northern Quarter, Piccadilly and the neighbourhood of the new Oak View/Co-op Live stadium in East Manchester for further potential hotels.

Elsewhere, Whitbread will open five new Premier Inn hotels in summer holiday hotspots: the new £11 million 121-bed

with international travel at a standstill, and unlikely to resume anytime soon, the hospitality sector does not look like a property market top bet. Yet, there is hope. And this is not just whistling to keep the spirits up.

Reasons to be cheerful range from operational to money market. At one end of the scale sits the (accurate) observation that some sectors and locations of the UK hotel sector were heading to over-supply before March 2020, and so the pandemicinduced slowdown in new development has done everyone a favour. At the other end, there are global investors who think that the bottom of the market is the perfect time to buy or build, and that is what they intend to do.

Here are six good reasons property developers and property investors still have faith in the hotel sector.

Torquay hotel is already rising out of its foundations.

1. Vaxxed-up baby boomers Not a joke, but a serious claim that the over 50s, all of whom should have had both doses of COVID vaccine by June, are expected to lead demand for domestic hotel space. They have the money, they have the time, and they have no reason not to go travelling. Data from CBRE suggests domestic travel demand will be the main stay until revenues recover in, or after, 2024. Hoteliers seem to agree, with Whitbread’s Premier Inn brand taking the opportunity to beef-up its staycationfriendly destination list.

Premier Inn is expected to open its fifth Manchester site in the university district

2. Investors are still interested The pre-pandemic hotel building boom was driven by an unprecedented surge of global equity into what felt like (and was, at the time) a potential high-return sector.

The flow of cash was eye watering: as much as £135 billion in 2019, after a decade in which volumes more or less doubled.

And yes, investment fell off a cliff when investors realised the pandemic would undermine the value of their newly built assets. Yet investment did not stop. Data from the City of London Business School shows that investors simply tightened their criteria and focused on the strongest propositions. Interest rates on senior debt rose appreciably, and lenders concentrated on their sweet spot, which meant deals large enough to make a good return, but not large enough to provoke sleepless nights. This means between £50m and £100m.

Investors also narrowed their focus to locations like London, reckoning the capital will always be a focus for visitors. So, whilst UK hotel investment volumes fell by 70% in 2020, in London they fell relatively less steeply (down 49%). This was largely thanks to the £750m sale of The Ritz, but the point remains valid: investors think London is a safe(ish) bet.

However, the pandemic has created a difficult-to-read market dynamic. Ian Elliott, Principal in Avison Young’s Hotel Valuation and Investment team, explains:

Mix 211 April 2021 | 53

HOSPITALITY Property

‘Thanks to government intervention, and forbearance from bank lenders, we haven’t seen anything like the distress sales we saw after the 2008/9 great financial crisis. Of course, some hotels will fail, and some must be sold, but we haven’t seen the 30-40% discount in pricing that some buyers were hoping for.’

The result is a curious kind of tension.

Buyers want to wait a little, hoping that, before long, sellers will drop their price.

Sellers reckon it is worth hanging on a bit longer, hoping the market picks up and rescues their hotel business. The consequence is that the volume of sales is extremely low, so judging the real level of pricing is hard. And that, too, deters deal making: who wants to sign up today to discover they paid over the odds tomorrow? There is, however, one clear consequence of this confusion – and this is reason to be cheerful number three.

3. Expect more refurbishment There are two drivers behind a potential boom in large-scale refurbishment. First, because customers and guests have the whip hand in a recovering sector and can afford to be choosy about where they stay.

‘Post-pandemic, people may travel less but they will stay in hotels more, if that makes sense,’ says Richard Candey, Head of Investor & Developer Services at Cushman & Wakefield.

Richard envisages fewer but more intensive visits, with users expecting more from their hotels. ‘This will mean more fun, attractive spaces, more lifestyle brands and less emphasis on homogenous boring brands, even for business visitors,’ he says.

The result will be a wave of upgrades, rethinks and refurbishments. Meanwhile, investors will be making complex calculations of their own, and this provides the second source of energy behind refurbishment.

Whilst hotel prices haven’t fallen as fast as some vendors would like, they certainly have fallen (10%-20% seems to be the agreed minimum). In some overcrowded locations and some styles of accommodation, the fall is sharper still.

“

Data from CBRE suggests domestic travel demand will be the main stay until revenues recover in, or after, 2024.

” 54 | Mix 211 April 2021

Leonardo Hotel. image: our studio

Potential buyers look at these sites and attempt to calculate the residual value – in other words, what that site would be worth if it were not a hotel.

‘The question for some investors is, can I buy and refurbish an existing hotel more cheaply than I could build a new one?’ asks Avison Young’s Ian Elliott. ‘And if your purchase cost in some locations is just 60-70% of the development cost, then why not buy and refurbish?’

This calculation will be particularly appealing in country house or suburban hotels, where the grounds, outbuildings and newly treasured rural location might mean the alternative (residual) value is a lot higher than that of the original hotel.

‘A tired hotel on the outskirts of a town may

have a lot of residual value, more than people saw before the pandemic,’ Ian suggests.

4. Developers are still developing The motive is clear: many existing hotels will be looking shabby by 2024, thanks to poor cash flow and a couple of years of underinvestment. One route for new entrants into a crowded market is to have a new, cool offer ready to make – which means starting to build now.

This kind of logic motivates Capital & Centric, developers of a central Manchester hotel to be operated by the Fattal Group. The Leonardo Hotel Piccadilly East will provide 275 rooms in a 110,000 sq ft building.

Acoustics.

Design.

Speed. www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/acousticcollection

creating better environments

HOSPITALITY Property

Residence Inn, Slough

“

‘Thanks to government intervention, and forbearance from bank lenders, we haven’t seen anything like the distress sales we saw after the 2008/9 great financial crisis.

” Adam Higgins, Co-founder at Capital & Centric, explains: ‘We actually finalised the deal with the Fattal Group for our Leonardo Hotel Piccadilly East during lockdown.

Some might say it took guts given what was happening but really it just showed the confidence on both sides that the UK market, and Manchester especially, would recover.

Sure, in the short-term, hotels have been hit hard, but you have to take a longer-term view.

‘I think people will be looking for new experiences and will want to stay somewhere cool.’

The striking building design (by Stephenson Studio) and interiors by NoChintz are designed to make the trip to Manchester well worth it. The hotel will be ready for visitors in Spring 2022, by which time Adam expects the domestic and overseas tourism market to be back to where it was pre-COVID.

5. Government money will help The pandemic has made aparthotels seem like a brilliant idea, and developers with an eye on the sector will be putting more effort into aparthotels or hybrid and double-

56 | Mix 211 April 2021

decker buildings containing both standard and aparthotel operators. Marriott’s first UK dual-brand hotel opened in Slough in February, providing Moxy and Residence Inn accommodation.

Developed and owned by Slough Borough Council, specialist hotel management company, Cycas Hospitality, operates both hotels and the development was built via a joint venture between the council and Morgan Sindall Investments Ltd. This development was backed by Slough Council and may not have seen the light of day without them. The government’s £4.8 billion Levelling Up Fund could offer more councils the chance to do likewise.

Occupying the lower four floors, the lifestyle driven Moxy Slough offers 152 guest rooms, including 28 twin and eight accessible rooms. With 92 suites, Residence Inn by Marriott Slough, for longer-staying guests, is the first branded extended-stay property in Slough.

6. Survival of the fittest This is not normally a source of comfort, particularly if you or your clients aren’t particularly fit. But understood properly,

this could be a significant spur to new development and refurbishment.

Cushman & Wakefield’s Richard Candey says: ‘Survival of the fittest is not a bad thing.

Operators have to sharpen up their offer. If it means that some hotels feel the pinch of competition, that’s good.

‘Over the last year we’ve seen the greater proportion of live hotel projects either enter a holding pattern or find themselves challenged to the extent that the proposal collapses.

But then this was also true pre-COVID. In London, for instance, we regularly tracked plans for about 25,000-30,000 hotel beds, yet only around 3,000 a year got built. The pandemic has increased the pressure these schemes feel, and that is not a bad thing because the weaker speculative schemes will not happen, and the strong ones will be a more certain focus of operator and investor interest.’

In other words, a clear out of ‘no-hoper’ hotel schemes may be a disappointment for their promoters, but it saves everyone else a lot of time and trouble.w

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LIVING Chapter Old Street

Much ado about something Tigg + Coll was tasked with creating a vibrant and inspiring amenity space for long-standing client, Greystar, combining key thematic threads and an existing material palette to provide a comforting ‘welcome home’ to residents and an inspiring introduction to visitors.

The entrance space references a classic proscenium stage

LIVING Chapter Old Street

G

top Soft seating areas and backdrop curtains are inspired by theatre sets

above Ribbed glass screens create private seating booths

uests arriving at Chapter Old Street – a dramatic new co-living space for students on the edge of the City of London – are immediately greeted by a theatrical entrance hall, which Tigg + Coll saw as a reinterpretation of the classic proscenium stage: frames of curved walnut arches sit against a decorative terrazzo floor, revealing new ‘sets’ as you make your way through the space.

‘We wanted the space to feel thematically relevant to its immediate context and our research led us to the local siting of Shakespeare’s theatre company (on Curtain Road) and its first permanent home in 1597, which saw early performances of some of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays, such as Romeo & Juliet and Henry IV parts I and II,’ David Tigg and Rachel Coll, the studio’s founders, tell us. ‘This inspiration led to an exploration of theatre design through the ages, focusing on the Art Deco inspired theatre foyers of the 1920s, through to the glamour of 1950s cinema and theatre.’

A reception desk, upholstered benches, lounge spaces with curtain backdrops (another nod to the theatrical) and ribbed glass screens, which smartly create seating booths, are complemented by a selection of mid-century inspired furniture in bright fabrics, walnut and stone. The ceiling and services are painted out in black, with simple track lighting inspired by theatrical lighting rigs and a selection of elegant brass

Client Greystar Europe Architect & Interior Design Tigg + Coll Architects Main Contractor & M&E Corley & Woolley Acoustics KP Acoustics Joinery Faber bespoke Furniture Supplier Conran Furniture Faber, Muuto, Mobel, Modus, Menu, Massproductions, Pedrali, Andreu World, Normann, Møbel Copenhagen, The Conran Shop Flooring Amtico, InOpera, Solus Other Grok, Baswa, Waverley, KPAcoustic

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LIVING Chapter Old Street

“

Given we designed and delivered these spaces in a pandemic, we were conscious of creating spaces which residents would feel comfortable to use, no matter what the future held

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pendant lights highlighting key set pieces within the space.

The building previously lacked collective spaces for residents and guests to meet, socialise and study – and these new spaces needed to remedy that. ‘The existing layout was extremely fragmented, with residents only having access to half the overall space, whilst the rest was occupied by staff areas, back of house uses and circulation,’ explains David.

A more inclusive and interconnected set of spaces have been created – with both shared and private meeting spaces for study, and a more welcoming and open reception area for residents and guests to feel they can get advice and feel safe in their surroundings.

‘Above all, we wanted to give more shared soft space, which had personality and vibrancy so residents could use these areas for relaxing,’ says Rachel. ‘Given we designed and delivered these spaces in a pandemic, we were conscious of creating spaces which residents would feel comfortable to use, no matter what the future held.

actively do. Our use of screens and arches were part of this interplay of breaking spaces down to give focus to activities but also create physical subdivision for individuals or small groups.’

The flexibility of these spaces also aims to allow enough bandwidth for residents to curate the space and how it is used. New amenities include study booths, lounge areas, the entrance hall for meeting visitors and a private room, which can be booked out by residents for study use or small gatherings – all of which adds useful space, which can be used and enjoyed day-to-day by all residents. ‘Daily engagement between residents,

‘Be it spaces for gathering in small groups or individuals waiting for friends to come down from their rooms, it was important to try and consider how people would feel about proximity and what we could

through creating shared spaces where staff can work, run the reception and where residents can socialise – creating a softer and more natural approach to engagement.'w

their guests and house managers is seen as being vitally important by the client in creating happy residents who will want to stay living at their buildings year after year, particularly with the impact and potential isolation issues of many of their residents who live alone,’ says David. ‘Frequent interaction is therefore seen as hugely important to make sure that everyone is satisfied with the service that is being provided and, beyond this, checking on people’s mental health. This was achieved

above Curved walnut arches are set against a decorative terrazzo floor

60 | Mix 211 April 2021

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LIVING Moda Living

Wellness by design From interior design to tech and vertical integration, Moda is leading the charge in BTR, and resident wellness is critical in how they design and operate their buildings.

Who wouldn’t want to live in a building that actively makes you healthier and happier?

Peter Sproule, Design Director at Moda Living, explains how this can be achieved.

External terrace, Angel Gardens

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ellness in the built environment has moved a long way from installing a green wall or providing some gym equipment. Wellness must be stitched into the very fabric of the building if it is to make a significant impact on a resident’s daily life.

Wellness also incorporates many different elements and senses, including sight, smell, sound, touch, daylight, sunlight, fresh air, comfort, control, safety, activity and nature.

We all know that good design can have a positive impact on how we feel within buildings. At Moda we focus on the ‘customer experience’ and it is considered at a very early stage – how does a resident move through the building, what is the customer journey, how do the spaces flow, how does it feel

62 | Mix 211 April 2021

within the apartments, where and what are the amenities, and how can we create opportunities for social interaction?

The Mental Health Foundation reports that, every week, one in six adults experience symptoms of a common and diagnosable mental health problem, such as anxiety or depression. We carry a significant level of responsibility in providing healthy environments for our residents to live in.

This includes designing with sustainability in mind, fostering a sense of community and maintaining our residents’ wellness.

Daylight can have a significant impact on mood.

We have created 2.5m floor-to-ceiling heights in apartments with large full height glazing, and amenity

“

At The Mercian in Birmingham we have even incorporated a 200m running track on the roof terrace!

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LIVING Moda Living

areas have a 3.5m floor to ceiling height, creating a sense of freedom and allowing natural daylight and sunlight to flood into the spaces, whilst improving views out. Access to external space provides fresh air and psychological benefits – at Angel Gardens (in Manchester) we have created a large central courtyard, a roof terrace with trees and comfortable furniture, as well as a rooftop sports pitch, promoting physical activity and reducing stress. At The Mercian in Birmingham we have even incorporated a 200m running track on the roof terrace! By elevating our key amenity spaces to the upper floors, rather than locating them all on the ground floor or in the basement, we can provide healthier environments in which to work, rest, and play.

below Community Space

Monitoring comfort Amenity spaces can be designed to be entirely flexible from the outset so that they can respond to changing needs, for example, increased workfrom-home space provision during lockdown.

Our partnership with Utopi has enabled us to install IoT sensors and cameras to monitor social distancing and cleaning regimes. Beyond the benefits this brings us in a COVID world, the longterm benefit of data capture for how and when residents use different types of amenity spaces will allow us to adapt the designs to suit residents’ needs and use patterns.

Utopi’s multi-sensor allows us to monitor and control air quality in apartments and amenity areas in real-time, including temperature, humidity, light, noise and CO2. This allows us to create a wellness score for each community, ensuring the building is providing the optimum internal environment for our residents. Control of internal environments is important to our happiness: it can be as simple as an openable window, to scene-setting lighting control and comfort cooling in amenity areas, allowing residents to control their environment for optimum comfort. We have found that thermal comfort, although often overlooked, contributes significantly towards resident satisfaction in buildings.

Apartment furniture in Moda buildings is designed for maximum comfort, whilst being robust and operationally efficient. We have a range of colours and fabrics that promote mental wellbeing and calm, whilst offering choice for residents. In Moda neighbourhoods we have seen a 95% take-up in furnished apartments as opposed to unfurnished.

The WELL Building Standard places importance on creating joy and visual comfort.

Within our buildings, colourful bespoke artworks

by Adam Ellis Studio are located throughout amenity areas, and circulation areas reflect local

culture and heritage, enhancing the customer experience by providing inspiration and helping increase productivity. Integration of public art is also encouraged by WELL and, at The Lexington in Liverpool, we have installed a large public artwork on the front elevation.

Health and wellbeing are becoming increasingly important to consumers, especially in the current climate, and residents are willing to pay a premium to live in a building that improves their overall wellness. If we create the right environments, residents will be happier, healthier and, of course, will stay longer.w

“

We have a range of colours and fabrics that promote mental wellbeing and calm, whilst offering choice for residents.

” Mix 211 April 2021 | 63

THE FINAL WORD

Slight Return Criteo’s Mike Walley has noticed a growing war of words over the long-awaited return to the office.

Mike Walley is Senior Director of Global Real Estate & Workplace Strategy at Criteo 64 | Mix 211 April 2021

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here is a lot of hot air being expended in the media over whether people want to return to the office, should return to the office, or even remember where the office actually is. The government seems to be determined to get everyone back full-time, with definitive statements from the PM and the Chancellor about how people can’t wait to get back. They are, unsurprisingly, supported in this ambition by landlords and real estate agents, who currently bombard me with carefully spun data on just how desperate everyone is to return. If they are to be believed, we are all like the Man in the Iron Mask, buried in the bowels of Chateau Dif, staring up at the sun streaming in through a high window and dreaming of freedom.

Personally, I think it is: a) hogwash and b) way more complicated than anyone lets on.

As with most things in life there is no ‘one size fits all’ and a weight on one side of the scales impacts the other. For example, the govt. is looking to support a variety of businesses – from the transport networks to the coffee shops – by encouraging a return, but at the same time they suggest they want us to be healthier. I’m not sure I can see how spending my downtime jammed into a train carriage or stuck in a traffic jam, travelling backwards and forwards to a city-based office, will help that target. Not when, if working from home, I could use that time to exercise or play sport.

Interestingly, we have found that, if you ask the workers themselves, you get a clear, but very different answer. Most people seem to want to return for a couple of days a week and have the option to spend more time working from home.

Whilst most companies seem to be open to this way of thinking, there are still some bosses

who seem closed to the whole idea, particularly in the world of finance. The other point at which I am seeing global resistance is within the ranks of mid-level managers. They seem to equate a flexible workforce with a loss of control and are fighting a rear-guard action, trying to hang onto working practices that don’t fit new designs or operating methods.

My favourite example is the weekly team meeting: ‘I plan to get the team into the office every Monday for the weekly meeting.’

‘But that is not supporting flexible working.’

‘How else am I meant to have a team meeting?’

‘What have you been doing for the last year?’

Long silence...

I believe that the ‘Battle of The Mid-Managers’ will be the toughest in the entire campaign around the changing face of work. They are being asked to alter their entire working framework, whilst keeping all the same pressures and targets.

It cannot be easy or comfortable. There is a quote, usually attributed to Einstein, that says the definition of madness is repeating the same action and expecting a different result. I would go so far as to say that repeating the same process in a different environment and expecting the same result is also madness. We have quite a hurdle ahead of us if we wish to help leaders evolve.

Power currently rests with the worker. If a business, at any level, cannot see that we will never be able to remove the freedoms offered by the pandemic without the workforce voting with its feet and going to a business that does understand this truism, I fear they face a difficult future.

Now, does anyone know where I left my office?w

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