Size

6,800 sq ft

Location

Guildford

Activity

Manufacturing & Industrial

Duration

11 weeks

We completed an 11-week project that delivered the refurbished UK headquarters of international electronics brand, discoverIE Group.

The CAT B refurbishment of a 6,800 sq ft building at Surrey Research Park in Guildford, blends tradition with a modern and forward thinking approach.

The result is a workplace where cellular office space coexists with open plan and collaborative working areas.

Discover IE 2 web

discoverIE Group is an international group of businesses that designs and manufactures innovative components for electronic applications.

The Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

It employs c.4,500 people and its principal operating units are located in Continental Europe, the UK, China, Sri Lanka, India and North America.

Overview

discoverIE Group is a business that traces its roots back to 1986. Established and successful, it has a proven strategy, business model and leadership team.

The refurbishment of its existing headquarters at Surrey Research Park was therefore about evolution, rather than revolution; an opportunity to modernise its workplace whilst retaining elements of a traditional office space that had served the business so well.

We’ve worked with the client previously and they trust our design team; it’s one of the reasons why we secured the project following a competitive tendering process.

Part of our task would be to create a space that would allow discoverIE’s bold and dynamic imagery and branding to breathe, as well as coordinating works with a separate landlord refurbishment.

Project completion

We have significantly enhanced existing office space within the two-storey building to create a series of contemporary collaborative and focused work spaces.

The project fuses discoverIE’s brand palette with a muted Scandinavian-style colour scheme, including timber flooring leading from the entrance of the building and lighter colouring throughout.

The upper floor houses six newly refurbished offices and two meeting rooms, including a ‘Zoom room’ for video conferencing, an open plan hotdesk workspace and kitchen.

The lower floor houses two newly refurbished offices, two smaller meeting rooms and a flexible boardroom with a marble-style wall covering, timber flooring with a rug inlay and LED lighting.

Other features include the use of a combination of high-end furniture, with family-style tables and benches for team and project based meetings and private booths for individual work.

Further break out space and flexible working areas have been refurbished on the ground floor, which contains a striking new reception area characterised by a new lightbox and full height glazing, that makes good use of natural light into the building.

Whilst the refurbishment itself was completed on time and to budget, our work with discoverIE spanned almost 18 months, having successfully developed design concepts through virtual meetings during the pandemic.

The entire process with Office Principles from start to finish was excellent. Their design ideas inspired our thinking, they were flexible in accommodating our constantly changing requirements and, once the design was settled, they delivered on time and within budget. They were a pleasure to deal with throughout and I would not hesitate to recommend them. Our office has been genuinely transformed and everyone here is delighted - well done OP!

Greg Davidson, Group General Counsel and Company Secretary from discoverIE Group

discoverIE asked us to refurbish its existing UK headquarters following a lease renewal. We were selected predominantly due to our impressive track record and the strength of our design, which allowed us to give assurances around project delivery times. Our team has successfully delivered a refurbishment that retains the very best elements of a traditional office with a forward-thinking approach. It has created a multipurpose workspace that suits the needs of a modern, diverse workforce.

Tom Parsons, Sales Director at Office Principles