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Fit-out of Workplace

 

Winner National and Midlands & East Anglia
PricewaterhouseCoopers - Cornwall Court, Birmingham

Buildings are becoming catalysts for changes in company culture. Employers realise they must cast off old-fashioned working practices to survive in a business environment that is more open, interactive and flexible. Nowhere is this more evident than the fit-out of Cornwall Court in Birmingham for PricewaterhouseCoopers.

A tired, dark and uninspiring 1980s office block has been reinvented by BDGworkfutures to create an inspirational workplace which enables flexible working.

At ground level, a French café in extraordinary colours and textures entices the staff to linger. In fact, colours give a tremendous sense of orientation in any part of the building as well as an uplifting spirit.

The old-fashioned hierarchy of enclosed space and rigidly defended territory has been swept away through a variation on use of cellular space called 'reverse hotelling'. Privacy is there when needed, but offices can be booked out when unoccupied.

Meeting/conference rooms and touchdown spaces are complemented by an impressive suite controlled by a concierge. This provides services ranging from centralised filing to restaurant bookings, dry cleaning and even storage for dinner jackets.

The holistic approach incorporating a variety of environments and working practices has produced a distinctive and appealing workplace that has injected new life into a tired building.

Winner Scotland
Scottish Courage HQ, Broadway Park, Edinburgh

Raise a glass to Scottish Courage. The drinks group used the centralisation of its Edinburgh operation to cut property costs and stimulate cultural change. Out went cellular offices and in came a new approach to open, flexible space the blurring relationship between home and office. There is a spectacular bar in a wood-roofed reception area which leads onto a new 'interactive street' linking 'neighbourhoods' in a village-style atmosphere.

Staff were consulted during planning and have the freedom to set up their own desks and choose where to work.

Winner North of England, North Wales & Northern Ireland
Major Project Griffin House, 40 Lever Street, Manchester

After more than a century in the same two Manchester buildings, garment and home furnishings business NBrown needed a cultural change. Staff now occupy three floors instead of 14 with open plan 'neighbourhoods' flooded with light, where ideas can flow across the business. Managers still have some privacy in glass pods which can be moved around. Small touches such as integrated hanging space for garment samples, frosted glass partitions for write-on walls and innovative IT facilities stand out in this new way of working.

Winner North of England, North Wales & Northern Ireland
Small Project International Centre for Business Improvement, Leeds

Everything about the Boxwood Group is reflected in its premises. Screenprints of Boxwood's corporate image run across one half of the building, wavy mesh wire across the other and there is a brise soleil clad entrance between. The dynamism continues inside. The 10 metre high glass and limestone reception has real wow factor and there is a 'memory wall' showing pictures of employees special moments. The judges were impressed by clear division of multi-use space and while this highly inventive approach may not be to everyone's taste but it certainly can't be ignored.

Winner London
Major Project Visa HQ, 1 Sheldon Square, London

Some buildings exude a feeling that the staff within are important and Visa International's Paddington HQ is one of these. Visa International asked Swanke Hayden Connell for 'understated elegance' - and they have got it. Offices and meeting rooms have been located on the south of the building as a solar buffer, leaving the rest open for interactive work. But the rooms are glazed to prevent anyone feeling cut off and there are even touch-down places are near windows

Winner London
Small Project CBRE Investors, 64 North Row, London

Squaredot Design took one look at this drab 1930s London office and decided to go for total transformation - regrouping staff, hot-desking and energising the whole environment. Out went greys and browns: in came what the designer calls a 'firebreathing colour tornado.' Etched glass maximises light and dazzling colours transform drabness to energy. The judges praised interesting ideas on use of space. Space 'bursts from nowhere' in place of battery-farm workstations, says Squaredot, creating new space ranging from 'chatting areas' to stylish mini-boardrooms and CBRE Investors is delighted with the results.

Commended EGG PB4, Pride Park, Derby

Commended Wolseley, Arlington Business Park, Reading

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