Size:
12,000
Location:
London
Activity:
Banking & Financial Services
Duration:
15 weeks
Global investment corporate, Randall & Quilter had two leases due for renewal for offices on two separate floors of the same building. Having negotiated extra room on the ground floor, the company aimed to consolidate its space and unite both offices on one floor.
Randall & Quilter wanted to open up the ground floor at the building on Fenchurch Street to bring its two London offices together, accommodating high density desking with a lot of open plan space and a complete refresh and refit of the whole environment.
The reception area benefitted from a bespoke joinery package, along with an eye-catching feature wall and reception desk. The reception signage was determined to reflect the company’s global roots, with stand-out map graphics.
Overview
Office Principles took down a demise wall, created extra meeting rooms and refitted the reception area. The team refreshed all the space currently taken by Randall & Quilter and reworked the two atrium spaces to extend the open plan arena, making these spaces more integral to the overall office design and emphasising the natural light. All the lighting was upgraded and replaced with LED lighting to provide a more sustainable solution; sprinkler heads and the tea point were repositioned and new carpets were fitted throughout, providing a flowing river effect to serve as a virtual spine to the space, visually connecting two sides of floor space and posing as a main walkway to the opened up atrium area. The building’s coffered ceilings meant that fittings had to be placed in designated areas due to its lack of strength, which provided a challenge with the acoustics. Special arms had to be installed to allow the hanging of chilled beams as these couldn’t be hung from the ceilings. A six zone system was installed to create background white noise, which cancels out peoples’ conversations and stops noise transfer between meeting rooms.
The reception area benefitted from a bespoke joinery package, along with an eye-catching feature wall and reception desk. The reception signage was determined to reflect the company’s global roots, with stand-out map graphics.
Project completion
The project was completed in phases to enable people to keep working in a limited space. The first phase covered all the ground floor. Once this was completed, members of staff were able to move down from the third floor. During the second phase, the existing offices were demolished to create an open plan area and the meeting room, boardroom and executive offices underwent a full refit. Teams have been given the opportunity to come together and access both light and views of outside; the whole of this space has been made significantly brighter. As the ground floor location is visible from the company’s main building reception, Randall & Quilter’s new reception area provides a communal backdrop for this iconic building.
“We enjoyed a really good working relationship with the client which, ultimately, helped in the smooth running of the project. We were determined to ensure that the presence of our team and the ongoing works would have as little impact on the clients workforce as possible and that remained our priority throughout the whole process.”
Joint managing director, Office Principles