Good Office Design

David Littlefield

• Publisher: RIBA Publishing
• Year: 2019
• eBook ISBN: 9781000705171
• Topic: Architecture
• Subtopic: Architecture générale

This book examines the trends and innovations at the cutting edge of office design in the UK today. Selected from British Council for Offices Award winners since 2002 and interpreting empirical analyses by Davis Langdon, the varied and stunningly illustrated case studies presented here demonstrate the latest thinking from the world of workplace design. Taken together, they offer insight and inspiration for architects, developers, clients and anyone interested in getting the very best out of places of work.

The text is sharp and authoritative, and complemented by colour photographs, floor plans, elevations and detail drawings. The chapters are organised into salient topics the Workplace, Location, Structure, Cost and Sustainability but along the way take account of numerous critical issues such as light levels and staff amenities. A wide-ranging end chapter, written by Jeremy Myerson and Paul Warner, knits together contemporary socio-cultural influences to imagine the future of the office.

1.0
Workplace

Roche Products, New Head Office

© David Barbour.

THIS BOOK DRAWS ON SUBMISSIONS TO THE ANNUAL AWARDS PROGRAMME THAT HAS BEEN RUN BY THE BRITISH COUNCIL FOR OFFICES (BCO) FROM 2002–2008. OVER THAT PERIOD THERE HAVE BEEN MORE THAN 400 INDIVIDUAL ENTRIES FOR PROJECTS AROUND THE UK, AND THIS BOOK HIGHLIGHTS A BROAD RANGE OF THEM – DRAWN FROM ACROSS DIFFERENT SECTORS, LOCATIONS, CLIENT TYPE, BUDGET, SIZE AND APPROACH. IT IS TELLING THAT A LARGE PROPORTION OF PROJECTS ENTERED FOR THE BCO’S AWARDS ARE LOCATED IN THE SOUTH OF ENGLAND, OR EVEN WITHIN THE M25 (ROUGHLY HALF, IN FACT). THIS IS PERHAPS TO BE EXPECTED, AS THE SOUTH EAST IS WHERE LARGE NUMBERS OF PRIVATE ENTERPRISES ARE HEADQUARTERED, WHILE PARTS OF LONDON HAVE ADDRESSES OF SUCH PRESTIGE THAT NOTHING BUT TOP-FLIGHT OFFICE DEVELOPMENTS CAN BE EXPECTED. NONETHELESS, THIS BOOK CONTAINS PROJECTS FROM ACROSS THE UK (ALBEIT WITH SOMETHING OF A SOUTH-EAST BIAS), WHILE EDINBURGH PROBABLY ALSO GETS MORE THAN ITS FAIR SHARE, AS A POLITICAL/COMMERCIAL CENTRE IN ITS OWN RIGHT.

© Crown Copyright

Wherever office developments are located, the approach to staff provision and spatial standards has remained remarkably consistent over recent years. Occupational density has ranged from one person per 24 m² to as little as one per 6 m², while the average remains around 12 m² per person. Similarly, light levels vary, although the average of 400 lux has become the typical provision. Generally, all projects submitted for awards, and certainly all those featured here, put a premium on the creation of a positive, efficient and delightful workplace. Many clients have entirely bought into the idea that high-quality surroundings will help attract (and retain) high-quality staff; and it genuinely does appear that clients have been happy to explore the widest possible range of options in the search for the ideal workplace.

The move to open-plan working is a common feature of most contemporary offices, although plenty of spaces are provided for meetings and conversations to be held in private. This move in terms of spatial planning accompanies a change in the perceived hierarchy of employers – a pecking order remains, but as everyone has their own value and role to play, status is no longer badged by the size or position of one’s private office. In fact, clients appear to have seized the potential of wireless working to allow staff to work flexibly anywhere, and a wide range of spaces are provided, from conventional desks, to cafes, cellular rooms, ‘breakout’ areas, light-filled atria and courtyards. ‘Plug-in-and-work’ is becoming common practice, often allied to hot-desking where people work at whichever space is available and appropriate for a specific task; centralised computers know exactly who is working where, allowing others to find them. Offices seem to be characterised by a certain informality, based on the idea that it is a person’s knowledge, capability and attitude that is important rather than where they sit. But informal does not mean uninspiring; typically, staff are grouped around perimeter windows for views and light (no longer are the best vistas reserved for board directors), while large atria, the application of colour and artworks, contemporary furniture and clear sightlines also animate the new generation of workplaces.

© eOffice

A serious consideration of staff amenity is also bound up with the provision of an appealing and motivating environment. A good number of BCO entries (perhaps because those entering will only submit their most prestigious projects) contain facilities such as a gym, showers, coffee bar, roof terrace, retail outlets, restaurants and libraries. Where businesses occupy out-of-town locations, there is often an increase in retail provision and possibly even the inclusion of a health centre; providing transport in the form of a private bus or extending the route of a public bus service is also becoming good practice.

© Stanhope plc by Hufton + Crowe

In planning terms, there seems to be a small number of office typologies emerging. Out-of-town offices, perhaps configured along the lines of a campus, often adopt the model of an internal ‘street’ along which workspaces and other facilities are ranged; bridges across this street often function as informal lounge or breakout areas. Urban developments tend to go upwards rather than outwards, so the street becomes compressed into an atrium, while roofs are deployed as terraces. In both cases, almost everything is visible, and a sense of activity and identity is provided through one sweeping gaze. Also, attention is given to the sense of entrance, of arrival; often staff and visitors are treated to a certain grandeur on entry.

© Richard Leeney Photography

Smaller developments are more difficult to characterise; often they will occupy just a single floor of a large building, or they will be conversions of buildings which come with their own curiosities and constraints. Even in these smaller, more individual, places, efforts are made to bring colour, light and openness to the working environment and amenities might be provided in simpler ways, such as the inclusion of bicycle racks, interesting graphics and coffee-making facilities that are well designed and on view rather than hidden in dark ‘kitchens’. The statistical research carried out by Davis Langdon on all the BCO award entries highlights one project which seemed to outdo all others in terms of staff amenity: there are free newspapers, free beverages, two coffee shops, an aerobics studio and much more. This is unusual, but the idea that employees are more than just workers is becoming fairly typical.

Unilever House
100 Victoria Embankment, London

Building Team

• CLIENT: UNILEVER
• DEVELOPER: STANHOPE
• OWNER/INVESTOR: SLOANE BLACKFRIARS
• ARCHITECT: KOHN PEDERSON FOX
• INTERIOR DESIGNER: PRINGLE BRANDON
• STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: ARUP
• SERVICES ENGINEER: ARUP
• QUANTITY SURVEYOR: DAVIS LANGDON
• PROJECT MANAGER: STANHOPE
• CONTRACTOR: BOVIS LEND LEASE

Building Data

• COMPLETED: APRIL 2007
• NET: 24,121 m²
• GROSS: 36,077 m²
• EFFICIENCY: 67%
• FLOORS: 10
• COST: £98,055,000

Unilever House was a wonder of the age when completed in the 1930s, but in spite of a 1980s refurbishment, this iconic building had become cramped, confusing and poorly used by the end of the century. The company began to explore ideas about redeveloping the building in 2002, and even considered moving to a new location. However, the headquarters is so firmly lodged within the identity and culture of Unilever (and its location is almost unbeatable) that the decision was taken to work with Stanhope to entirely update and reinstate the elan of this curved, neoclassical edifice.

The brief was to create a working environment of the highest possible specification within this Grade II listed structure. The developer, with architect KPF, has managed to create a highly contemporary and immensely eye-catching office space which is more accessible, more sustainable and more stimulating than its forebear. Cleverly, in spite of the scale of the reinvention of this building, the design and construction team managed to make the best of a long list of original artefacts including doors, marble, parquet flooring, fireplaces, Gill lift panels and light fittings (and where some parquet flooring could not be reused, it was reassembled to create a set of tables for Bovis Lend Lease). Even internally, there are enough historic clues to remind occupants they are still in Unilever House. Circulation has been greatly improved. The original floor plates, which encompassed dispersed lift cores, have been reconfigured to create a dramatic atrium (created by linking five central light wells) with a single lift core. Adding to the drama of this space are four ‘flying carpets’ which provide extra circulation opportunities for floors five to eight. Suspended from the perimeter columns of the atrium, this multilevel structure (linked by a spiral stair) is held rigid by being twisted into tension and secured by high-strength, stainless steel tension rods. Suspending these floors in this manner enables the lower part of the atrium to be kept clear. This radical reinvention of the nine floors, stair cores and lifts was made possible by replacing much of the original complex

Unilever. This Building, Rated Excellent Through Its Breeam Assessment, Has Been Entirely Rethought – Allowing Unilever to Continue Occupying This Iconic Headquarters by the River Thames.

© Stanhope plc by Hufton + Crowe

WITH A GROSS INTERNAL FLOOR AREA OF 36,077 m² (388,329 ft²), THE BUILDING HAS AN EFFICIENCY OF 66.7%. TYPICALLY, OFFICE SPACES ON EACH FLOOR AMOUNT TO AROUND 2,500 m² (NET).

© Stanhope plc by Hufton + Crowe

and heavy structure with lighter steel floor plate, rigidly connected to the retained elements of the build...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title
• Title
• Copyright
• FOREWORD
• CONTENTS
• 1. WORKPLACE
• 2. LOCATION
• 3. COST
• 4. SUSTAINABILITY
• 5. STRUCTURE
• 6. FUTURES
• INDEX