Building 1320 on the outskirts of Reading is the new headquarters building for Veritas Technologies UK and EMEA operations. The building was originally constructed around 20 years ago as part of a landscaped campus development but has been subject to a major recent refurbishment and the addition of a newly constructed double height atrium which now acts as the main entrance.

Veritas do not have a well-developed set of Global Workplace Standards. Since the split with Symantec in 2016 Veritas have an emerging set of Design Standards and a developing corporate identity. With a network of new sites emerging across the world and a positive move towards a more agile workplace environment, there is a strong emphasis on learning, innovation and developing their workplace concept.

We worked closely with the Workplace and Branding Teams based in their Santa Clara California HQ and made in depth analyses of several of their recent projects in Asia Pacific, India and Ireland to incorporate lessons learned and respond to the particular aspirations of the UK based operation.

The project benefitted from having a blank canvas and this has enabled us to develop a scheme, in close collaboration with the different business departments and main stakeholders, which meets all of their consolidation needs and takes their ideas about their workplaces a step closer to their global brand objectives.

Closely aligned with the Swansea Workplace and within the same building the Collaboration Hub is laid out as a series of bookable spaces that could be used individually by small groups of 8-10, or merged into one or two larger team event spaces.

To support this highly adaptable space all elements are mobile, moveable and lightweight allowing individuals to reconfigure their area to support a range of different activities during the course of a day. Moveable screens aid the division of the space and act variably as writable panels or sound absorbing features. Mobile technology is also incorporated to enhance the functionality and allow colleagues to get the most out of “their day in the office”

The new restaurant is located at ground floor level of the Sir Michael Uren Biomedical Engineering Hub overlooking a pedestrian square. The restaurant, for around 100 covers, will offer full hot and cold food, along with café style snack and drink facilities. The kitchen is designed to deliver hospitality services to the entire ICL White City Campus.

The main drivers for the spatial layout were to maximise the use of the rather irregular shape and to provide as adaptable a space as possible. The intention is for the space to transform during the course of the day so the facility can morph from a café to a bar and to a sit down restaurant in the evenings. To support this multi-functional usage, adaptable theatre style lighting is used to transform the ambient mood. The space is also designed as an events venue with any fixed elements arranged around the perimeter enabling the majority of the space to be cleared

As part of the main office floor renovation programme the basement levels house a gym, changing facilities with showers, accessible washrooms with showers, bicycle parking and locker rooms.

The gym combines a high-impact floor area for free weights and a sprung floor area for multiple activities, from spin classes to yoga sessions. Key features are the exposed ceiling services, which were spray-painted and received suspended acoustic rafts and track lighting.

The shower facilities are gender neutral, so all showers are designed with private changing cubicles and a common locker area. The same ceiling solution used elsewhere is repeated here, with exposed services and added elements of acoustic treatment and lighting, which also contribute to the zoning and framing of spaces.

As this project was developed during the pandemic, the capacity of the bicycle parking takes into account the likely increased preference of employees for bicycles and scooters that should follow the return to the office, in comparison to the pre-pandemic numbers.

This was a programme to restack 11 of the 12 floors implementing a uniform concept throughout the building comprising large open plan office areas along with ancillary functions such as a gym, changing rooms and town hall facilities. This concept was applied in 16 phases over a two and a half year timescale.

The design of each phase was planned to meet a rolling programme with demanding timelines whilst responding to changing business needs without losing momentum or compromising the programme. There was a need to satisfy the particular demands of each team while preserving coherence and visual unity creating a high-tech look without compromising the use of natural materials and biophilia.

The design concept of the offices is strongly founded on technology, privacy, comfort and functionality by the creation of a futureproofed, flexible and accommodating environment where different work styles can thrive. Aesthetics are based on the use of natural textures and “true” materials, such as terracotta, cement and natural plants to reinforce the sense of wellbeing and belonging

The cyber-defence area, one of the most critically and technologically demanding spaces in the building features high-end meeting rooms fully equipped with state of the art AV/VC installations and high levels of visual and audio privacy.

Exposed ceiling services continue the high-tech feel with a futuristic look achieved by LED feature lighting

High visual and audio privacy levels are provided by acoustic perforated plywood panelling on walls and electronic privacy glass that switches from clear to opaque via remote control.

The Project was the first time fit-out of the East Wing of L7, Building S9, International Quarter, Stratford, London and was completed to a Cat A standard by the Landlord/Developer.

The building is located in the new business district known as the International Quarter between Westfield Shopping Centre and the 2012 London Olympic Park. One of the primary considerations in arranging the different activity functions was to maximise the excellent views out, particularly from the client-facing areas

The space is broadly rectangular in form within a multi-occupancy building and the proposed layout incorporates a client-facing meetings suite together with a back office of 86 workstations, a number of touchdown benches and a mix of collaboration settings.

The host building is a newly constructed 10 storey office building by Rogers, Stirk, Harbour & Partners and a key objective has been to align the interior design to a similar look & feel. The site is flat and will be eventually set within a landscaped, mixed-use pedestrian zone with an array of support facilities and services.

The COVID-19 pandemic forced many companies, large and small, to become remote-working organisations very quickly and accelerated the journey towards new ways of working. This client was no exception to this and they quickly realised they could run their business operations outside long established historical constraints, that flexible working and the use of advanced technology could improve productivity and that agility across teams can deliver outstanding results.

Functioning as a Contact Centre but not in the traditional sense, the design solution offers a wide range of alternative work settings to support focussed work, collaboration and social interaction. With a cohort of circa 1,000 colleagues the space is designed for a daily occupancy of less than 200, completely reversing pre-covid ratios of office and home based working

The primary objective of the Project was to deliver a new type of workspace more suited to the new patterns of work that have been developed during the pandemic and to provide a flexible environment for how workplace strategies might develop moving forward. The emphasis has been on adaptability and flexibility with built rooms reduced to a bare minimum and a great reliance on furniture based solutions that can easily flex as new patterns of work evolve

Park Lane was a repurposing exercise of an existing asset to create a high grade meetings suite for senior executives in global banking and markets to better engage with their client base in London.

The brief was to create a modern but relaxed drop-in space which offered a range of engagement opportunities. This required a mix of different spaces from informal through to boardroom and to larger group events spaces whilst ensuring that the appropriate levels of privacy and comfort were achieved and apparent.

The design solution was to create a set of new rooms and adapt existing spaces to provide a variety of meeting environments. These were created with much improved audio and visual privacy with a look and feel which enhanced the client engagement experience. Particular attention was paid to the integration of up to the minute AV & VC installations with discreet arrangements for hospitality catering.

The new Meetings Suite provides a range of settings tailored specifically to the need for client confidentiality in an environment that demonstrates stability, security and comfort. The remodeling helped maximise the use of natural light and views at across Hyde Park and the business now has the right technology and communication tools the enhance their engagement and provide a better service.

8 Canada Square is the Global HQ building of a large Banking Corporation and comprises 42 floors of occupied office space. It provides the global base for a large array of different Business Entities within one of the world’s largest Banking operations.

Our ongoing appointment covers a rolling programme involving the restacking of multiple floors of mixed use functions, each mostly involving a full floor refresh.

The Client have a well developed set of Global Workplace Standards and some rigorous occupancy requirements but within the organisation there are many different Businesses each with their own set of objectives from both a Business Operations and an Aspirational perspective.

There were around 10,000 people working under the Corporation’s banner from this one building alone, so establishing a clear brief for each floor presented a significant challenge and required an appropriate concept on a floor by floor basis.