Building an Office for the Future
We’re very excited to be unveiling our brand new Head Offices in the middle of Preston, Lancashire. It’s been a long time coming but we think our staff and customers deserve the very best environment in which to work, play and relax.
The new offices are the result of a £60,000 investment in the future for our business including the entire renovation of one of the floors of the prestigious Derby House. Set in the business district in the city centre, our new offices look out over the Winckley Square Gardens, which have just completed a £1.1 million renovation as part of Lancashire County Council’s BID project.
The offices were professionally designed by a leading London based interior office design company. We set out with a brief to design an office that was practical, encouraged innovation and new ideas, but that enhanced the family-style approach we have to our staff and customers. The design team came up with some innovative designs — including the commissioning of a huge abstract wall mural in the kitchen break out area.
Balancing the right mix of open plan and private work space took many iterations of the design. The inclusion of a number of design pods where engineers could collaborate, and private glass offices for staff to get some quiet time were located at one end of the new layout. A large breakout space with a 12 seat, bespoke commissioned oak dining table was placed at the other end of the new floor.
We were careful to ensure that the office design fully supported the way in which our engineering team operate. Incorporated into the design was a ‘standing room only’ Media Table that is specifically used as the location for the team’s Daily Stand Ups. It’s a great place to get everyone involved at the beginning of the day and is a vast improvement on previous stand ups huddled around a pod, or one engineer’s desk.
The journey began early 2017 with the Directors’ search for a new office as part of a 5 year high growth plan for the business. A number of different locations were considered in the ‘Northern Powerhouse’ of Lancashire, including Manchester City Centre, Lancaster and Warrington. Eventually we settled on Preston due to its recent huge investment in the city centre and excellent transport links with Lancaster (important as we continue to maintain strong links with the University), Manchester and London.
Derby House has been home to many businesses over the years due to its desirable positioning in Preston’s prestigious Winckley Business District. Occupying the 2nd floor of the building we decided to renovate what used to be Lancashire County Council’s head office. The large amount of space was a blank canvas for the Design Team and once lease terms were agreed the Design task began.
From sourcing the site to moving in took around 8 months, with daily interaction with the Design Studio whilst we refined the layout, materials and concept. 3D and interactive concept designs were generated — we’ve provided a few of the renders for comparison purposes (we’re pretty impressed with how close the final build was to the design!)
Once the design was agreed our build team moved in and set about the 4 month renovation stage. We heard that the greatest challenge was transporting the huge pieces of glass that made up the pods, boardroom and whiteboard design room!
The final design and implementation is something we are hugely proud of. We believe that our staff and customers deserve the very best environment in which to work. If you’re in the City why not pop in and grab a coffee?
