Size
6,790 sq ft
Location
Kidlington
Activity
Property & Coworking
Duration
8 weeks
A relocation, a rebrand and the first office fit out at a major new science and technology park: welcome to the new regional head office of award-winning homebuilder, Cala Homes.
Office Principles designed and project managed the delivery of the new 6,790 sq ft workplace at Oxford Technology Park in Kidlington, near Bicester.
The successful project has enabled Cala to relocate its regional team from existing premises in Solihull, creating a destination that aligns with its customer-centric culture and complements its new hybrid working model.
And its completion has also provided the springboard for the launch of a new brand and refreshed ethos, reflecting the values of a forward thinking employer, determined to play its part in looking after the planet.
Cala Homes is a major UK home builder focused on building well-designed, high-quality homes in prime locations throughout the South of England, the Midlands and Scotland.
Founded in 1875, Cala was the first Scottish company listed on the London Stock Market.
Today, it is part of Cala Group, a subsidiary of Legal & General Capital, and employs 1,200 people across nine offices.
Overview
Cala Homes identified Oxford Technology Park as the site for its new regional head office, as part of a strategic move for the business.
Not only would it bring the homebuilder’s team closer to key developments in the Cotswolds, it would also bolster its commitment to the region.
Yet relocating from its previous office in Solihull would require a change in working practices to a hybrid model and the delivery of a new workplace with the flexibility to accommodate it.
The design brief for the new HQ for Cala Cotswolds, one of eight regional businesses within the Cala Group, was developed by Office Principles as part of our integrated project delivery model.
We considered future workplace trends, agile working, culture, wellness and brand, with a keen focus on meeting Cala’s sustainability ambitions.
Project completion
Collaborative and multifunctional, Cala Cotswolds’ new workplace is a dynamic and engaging destination across a single floor plate.
An open-plan layout features varying communal work areas, blending private and public spaces. The result is a workplace for all occasions, from formal ad-hoc meetings and focused independent work, to project work, touchdown meetings and even supplier events and team lunches.
There are several meeting spaces - all equipped with full AV capabilities - project-focused rooms, interactive screens for creative sessions and more conventional meeting rooms with screens and presentation facilities.
A multi use café and kitchen space incorporates two large tables, enabling people to relax, eat and take breaks together, while there is also lockable storage to promote flexible, hot-desk working practices.
Furniture has been deployed flexibly to enable the workspace to serve multiple functions to suit Cala’s working style, with a combination of high back acoustic booths, hot desks, sit-stand desks, workbenches and high-level tables.
The workplace features prominent flashes of Cala’s vibrant new brand, which contrasts with more covert accents of its new primary colour palette.
Its design is characterised by strong green credentials, including the use of biophilia and a floor-to-ceiling ‘living wall’ which provides a striking arrival experience and acts as a natural acoustic buffer, segmenting the welcome lounge from the adjacent boardroom.
The theme is continued externally, where there are EV charging points to encourage sustainable travel to work.
The project is the first office fit out to be delivered at Oxford Technology Park, a new 400,000 sq ft campus development comprising Grade A offices and hi-tech buildings arranged along a central tree-lined avenue.
Its achievement owes much to the strength of relationships between key stakeholders.
Office Principles worked in close partnership not only with Cala but the park’s owner and landlord, Angus Bates of Hill Street Holdings in realising Cala’s vision for its new regional HQ.
We are very pleased to have delivered the first office fit out at Oxford Technology Park. Covid has changed the way that many businesses work and Cala is no exception. The company wanted to engage the skills of an independent design house, specialising in office and workplace, to realise the vision it had for its new home. They saw the benefit of our integrated project delivery methodology, which delivers architectural services and project delivery, as a turn-key solution. We’ve been working in partnership since 2021 and collectively we’re excited that the outcomes of this project will positively transform the way Cala Cotswolds and its team operates in its workplace.
The office move creates a real opportunity to strengthen our focus as a business across the region, whilst re-imagining the purpose and profile of our office by adapting to new ways of working. Our aim was to create a more welcoming, collaborative space which meets the needs of employees and stakeholders, both now and in the future. When it comes to designing our sites and homes, we take it very seriously, and it was no different for our workspace – we had to be meticulous down to every detail and practise what we preach. The outcome is a carefully crafted space, which is an ideal setting for our teams to get together, collaborate and innovate.