Shalini Misra Design a Feminine and Serene Office

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a feminine and serene office design by 2023 SBID Awards Finalist, Shalini Misra.

On a thriving street in London’s Mayfair, Shalini Misra has designed the interiors to a feminine, modern office space with a curated mix of materials from marble and timber with metal accents to fluted glass. Artwork is hung in the entrance, main office and board room giving a high-end residential feel. The main office is separated from the other areas with a glass fluted wall to allow light to flow throughout the space, with motorised blinds installed for privacy. Plants are placed throughout to bring in the essential presence of nature and the terrace provides a private outdoor space.

What was the client’s brief? 

The client aspired for an office space that radiates a homely, feminine, modern, and serene ambiance, enriched by an abundance of green elements. With a harmonious combination of materials like timber, marble, glass, and elegant metal accents, the bespoke shelves incorporate captivating accessories, creating a striking backdrop for the client. Meticulously crafted custom furniture, rugs, and the addition of exquisite Hermes and silk wallpapers catered to individual needs, elevating each space with an extra layer of elegance and charm. Additionally, the use of burgundy and navy upholstery infuses a vibrant and colourful rhythm throughout all areas.

What inspired the design of the project?

Our design approach was guided by the client’s love for nature, greenery, and abundant natural light, along with her impressive art collection. The design layout seamlessly integrates a cleverly crafted glass-fluted wall that delineates the main office space, allowing for the uninterrupted flow of natural light while ensuring privacy through the inclusion of motorized blinds. Carefully positioned plants breathe a vital sense of nature into the setting, while the terrace offers a secluded outdoor sanctuary.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

Although we faced challenges posed by joinery-related delays, achieving timely project completion was effectively overcome through swift on-the-spot solutions, ensuring the smooth progression of the project.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

When we handed over the project to the client, she was thrilled. Over the years, every time we see her or hear from the team, they fondly recall the office’s inception and express ongoing enjoyment of their work environment.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

I entered the SBID Awards to showcase my recent interior projects, gain recognition within the industry, and connect with fellow professionals. The awards provide an excellent platform to highlight my studios creative abilities and contribute to the broader design community.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

Being a finalist in the awards has been an incredibly rewarding experience for me and my design studio. It signifies that our hard work, dedication, and innovative approach to interior design are being acknowledged and celebrated by our peers and the industry. This recognition not only boosts our team’s morale and motivation but also enhances our credibility and reputation. It inspires me to continue pushing the boundaries of creativity in our projects.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a sustainable and neutral office design by 2023 SBID Awards Finalist, Anomaly.

Global family business, Metdist, required their new UK base to become their home-from-home, and it was up to Anomaly to make this their reality, creating a stylish space that brought together the multiple functions of the business all in one open plan space. The 5,806 sq ft space includes an art studio, private offices, and a breakout space, all within a neutral palette.

What was the client’s brief? 

The client, Metdist – a global family run business – was driven to create a space fit for their London office HQ in the established Regent’s Park surroundings. The design directive was underpinned by Metrist’s belief that they, their staff, and their clients should connect emotionally with the spaces they work in. The existing building was a unique modernist warehouse and to be retrofitted from its industrial past into a sustainably lead office, layered with colour, materiality, and a wonderfully ferocious eye for detail from the client.

What inspired the design of the project?

The client held the belief of fine craftsmanship to bond the old and contemporary architecture, a focus of bespoke joinery and working with the existing industrial structure was a key source of inspiration. The brief required an intertwining of functional spaces that were fit for use, but also adaptive to their growing team. The joy of working closely with a family-owned business was the exploration of each family member and what this space meant to them, and their full engagement across the process to push us as a practice. We developed and designed spaces that reflected their individual personalities but also their family as an identity which has been going for three generations.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

Balancing the rigid geometry of the sawtooth structure against the client’s appetite to deliver more open and softer spaces. Curved walls don’t go into pitched roofs without a headache or two. In addition, the proximity of the site to the London Underground was a curious hurdle that logic would ordinarily dictate as unnecessary. The removal of a single, non-load bearing column took 9 months to be approved which was a thrilling experience.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The client’s enthusiasm for bold and daring ideas was definitely the highlight, it made the collaboration extra exciting and appealing, and reaffirms that a great scheme isn’t born from indifference, but through being challenged, through debate, testing the ludicrous and playing with the salacious to get create something worthwhile, not meanwhile. Working with a non-profit charitable institution added another a-typical dimension to the scheme, providing philanthropic assistance through the promotion and assistance of arts, history, culture, education, and relief work – so what’s not to love!

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

We entered the SBID Awards because they acknowledge excellence in design, and we think this scheme is excellent… at least that is what Metdist told us. Anomaly is not a practice of the individual, but collection of others producing work of note. To have this seen, to have this recognised is validation of what the team strive for and own on each project.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

Getting to tell the team that designed this that it isn’t just us that think you’re a class act, but your peers do to. That what we’re doing has reach beyond the studio, and beyond the relationships we have with our clients.

Questions answered by Nina Greenwood, Lead Designer at Anomaly.

Welltek is thrilled to represent Silen in their Clerkenwell showroom, which is in the heart of London’s design district.

Silen’s impressive range of phone booths, manufactured in Estonia are now available to buy through UK distributor Welltek. Welltek has over 20 years of experience providing market-leading phone booths to the UK’s major clients. With superior soundproofing, a silent ventilation system, and integrated technology that allows you to stay connected, these pods are among the best in the world.

The range includes space-saving phone booths, comfortable work pods and modular meeting booths to accommodate up to 14 people.

Who are Silen?

Silen are an experienced team of workspace privacy experts, actively trading in 60 countries providing workspace solutions for clients such as Airbus, Ernst & Young, Dell, and Volkswagen Group. As the first and only manufacturer to be awarded carbon neutrality across their entire range of products, it is now the global innovation leader in the industry.

Silen offers the most extensive range of phone booths and meeting pods and is now the #1 choice for the Fortune 500. Silen have been committed to providing human-centric workspaces for 25 years.

“In the world of interior design, especially in the modular office furniture sector, we have managed to establish a great reputation for the quality of our products. However, alongside the trust and recommendations we have earned, the customer still needs to see, feel and test the product for themselves and experience the efficiency of the sound barrier and ventilation. After all, your own ear is king.” – Co-founder and CEO Endrus Arge

Silen’s products will be showcased alongside other innovative, design-led, sustainable furniture solutions covering all major sectors including: hospitality, commercial, finance and healthcare.

Enjoy your own silence at Welltek: 26 Seward Street, London EC1V 3PA | Mon-Friday | 9:00am-5:30pm.

If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more. 

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a neutral and geometric office design by 2023 SBID Awards Finalist, XBD Collective.

The office space was designed to embrace a unified concept, mirroring the distinctive architectural style of the building to ensure continuity and cohesion. At its core, the office layout embodies the essence of a new genre of workspace within the workplace, aiming to create an optimal engagement within the working environment. It strikes a delicate balance between innovation and practicality, offering a dynamic commercial space that not only inspires creativity but also caters to the essential needs of a productive work setting.

What was the client’s brief? 

The purpose of the office space was to create a coworking space, not only a place for Modern Working to make their new office headquarters their home. They wanted to include individual workspaces and/or office spaces to be rented to outsiders. One-third of the office would be occupied by Modern Working while the other remaining two-thirds of the space would be for the business center rentals. Together they would be able to share common spaces.

The client’s needs involved having coworking spaces with private offices, an art gallery in public areas, and an amphitheater seating area where the company can hold small events and meetings for collaboration purposes.

Overall, the office needed to be an open and visual continuity space making use of fluid shapes and mixed with regular geometric lines. A neutral palette with the use of glass and marble was requested. The coffee bar, amphitheater, and an art gallery to buy artworks were additional unique and key elements that were required to be incorporated within the office layout and to elevate the space.

What inspired the design of the project?

The office space was designed to feature an identical concept to the building in terms of its unique design for continuity and consistency. The building’s dual aspect of design, playing with curvy and organic shapes within the atrium while making use of rigid and linear lines on the facade, was what initially inspired the office layout.

The office layout is all about the new genre of workspace within the workplace to offer maximum employment engagement and productivity within the working environment. The commercial space needed to be innovative while still being a practical place to work.

The office’s public spaces are situated in an open plan configuration while all the private offices are laid out next to the façade on the north, as well as on the east side of the space, creating a traditional office layout and allowing for better control of lighting and acoustic levels. The organic facade of the office on the west is a more fluid and dynamic space that interconnects the different areas of the office and offers a more creative and interactive environment for the office. Combining these two kinds of spaces brings flexibility within the office, allowing for different uses and types of work collaborations to happen within the office.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

Situated within Zaha Hadid’s Opus Tower at Business Bay, the office occupies the building’s first floor. The unique triangular floor plan, complemented by structured and orthogonal designs on one side and fluid, curved elements on the opposite side of the façade, guided the strategic utilization of space. These cues facilitated the optimal arrangement of various areas within the office, ensuring each type of space found its best-suited location.

Due to the complexity of the internal structure, a point cloud model was required before being able to model the space in Revit accurately. This was required in order to achieve a clear understanding of the informants and constraints to produce the spaces along the organic curved façade of the building’s central void.

In the spaces that weren’t habitable due to the restrictions of the height, the design introduced a pebbled garden with plants, also known as biophilic design, along the complex curved façade to enhance the quality of the work environment.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

It was a challenge due to the complexity of the space. It also brought interest considering the importance of the building, as it’s inside of Zaha Hadid’s Opus Tower. We can highlight the willingness of the client to explore a different style of office, moving away from our familiar perception of a working space. It is rare and gave us freedom to create something unique.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

SBID is a renowned international platform, and we’re very proud to be part of it. We consider it’s a great opportunity to showcase our work and see it alongside some of the best international talents. We presented several residential and commercial projects in this edition, and we couldn’t be happier with the outcome. We have been finalists in the 6 categories we participated in, and this encourage us to keep working hard.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

It’s an honour to see our projects selected as finalists. It’s really rewarding after dedicating so much effort to each one. This recognition brings satisfaction to our team, but also to our clients, and that’s what makes us proud. We view this experience as a chance to learn and continue to evolve, contributing in the best possible way to the field of interior design.

Questions answered by Ellen Sohoel, Founder of XBD Collective.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features an innovative and modern office design by 2023 SBID Awards Finalist, YU SPACE DESIGN.

OCC Ode International was built as a key livelihood project in the city’s “14th Five Year Plan” and included in the 2022 Linyi Central Urban Infrastructure and Key Project Construction Plan. The project occupies the commercial powerhouse of the city, the Linyi CBD Central Business District, which is located at the core of the city government. It inherits the ingenuity of the choice, and achieves the accelerated rise of the capital market, injecting the potential for enterprise ambition.

What was the client’s brief? 

De-organisation combined with corporate culture and local cultural characteristics to create a brand new humanistic and social office public space, achieving a social platform with temperature, interaction, and cultural and artistic elements; Design requirements: hotel oriented coffee culture, green technology.

What inspired the design of the project?

Due to the rising trend of the water and the combination of the local main river – the Yi River and the landforms on both sides of the river, the ancient name of Linyi was Langya and the literati temperament were used to create a book bar atmosphere.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

Due to the complex spatial scale and staggered layers, it is difficult to construct materials that exceed the specified size; During the construction period, the domestic epidemic control in China made it difficult to operate many things.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The combination of colonnades and terraced staircases in the space with the library.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

The establishment of the Awards Trust Mark Scheme aims to encourage more reward programs to focus on their own ethics and transparency. The plan reviews everything from standards, ratings, feedback, transparency, and judgment. The SBID International Design Award is considered one of the most prestigious awards in the field of interior design by the best in the industry, solely based on the design quality, innovation, aesthetics, and added value of the project.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

It has enhanced the brand image of design enterprises, enhancing Stakeholder Confidence, stimulated internal morale, attracting Better Talents, and generate more social opportunities.

Questions answered by Jacky Chen, Design Director at YU SPACE DESIGN.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a playful and collaborative office design by 2023 SBID Awards Finalist, Modus Workspace.

Huckletree and Modus Workspace have joined forces, creating London’s most innovative ecosystem, built to support the next generation of disruptors. Huckletree project, Jubilee House. This co-working space is designed to be inclusive, playful, and visually appealing, while providing mental and physical space for ideating, offering an immersive experience for its occupants. Spanning two floors, the design manipulates colour and light to create boundaryless and visually deceptive spaces that represent the endless possibilities in a constantly evolving world. Each space challenges all five senses in a unique way, fostering a dynamic and vibrant environment that promotes inclusivity, innovation, creativity, and collaboration.

What was the client’s brief? 

Huckletree, the network of curated coworking hubs for innovative businesses, approached Modus to design and build their new Web3 focused workspace on the world-renowned Oxford Street. In the words of Huckletree co-founder and CEO Gaby Hersham,

“The Web3 space is the next frontier of our economy, and we want to foster the next generation of entrepreneurs. To do this, we need to look at workspaces that incorporate a mix of old world and new. We need to tailor-make spaces where creators, agencies and Web3 collaborators can come together to help our members thrive and build strong companies with robust longevity”.

This idea provided the foundations of the brief, which Modus digested and then transformed into the incredibly inclusive, playful, and Instagrammable, Huckletree Jubilee House workspace.

What inspired the design of the project?

The design of the Jubilee House is where the metaverse influences reality, the journey of which was a highly collaborative experience for all those involved. Think bold colour spectrums, infinity mirrors, contemplative archways, NFT digital galleries, creative parlours, and an immersive meta-lounge. Huckletree Oxford Street not only meets the diverse needs of its occupants but provides a unique experience and a playground for reinventing the future of everything.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The highlight of the project for the team was working with such a forward-thinking and energetic brand. The freedom of colour use during the design process was unlike any project we have worked on before. It is not every day you get to incorporate all the colours of the rainbow into a workspace! It was equally refreshing and inspiring to incorporate non-gender specific bathrooms to the space, a request from Huckletree, showcasing their commitment to inclusivity and diversity, making all occupants feel comfortable and valued. The whole project was a pleasure from start to finish and we look forward to future collaborations with Huckletree.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

We entered Huckletree for an SBID award with the aim of showcasing the design and all that is has achieved with a wider audience, promoting an outstanding example of playful and inclusive workspace design.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

Being a finalist in the SBID Awards is a phenomenal achievement, and one in which we are incredibly proud! It has highlighted our ability, as a leading office design and build company, to create unique, immersive, and inclusive workspaces that stand out in the competitive design industry.

Questions answered by Vidhi Sharma, Creative Director at Modus Workspace.

Pedrali, the leading Italian company that produces contemporary furniture for contract and residential, has recently inaugurated its new workspaces at the Headquarters in Mornico Al Serio (Bergamo). The project, named Pedrali Collaborative Space, was designed by the Milanese architectural firm Park Associati, which in 2022 oversaw the renovation and expansion of the company restaurant.

From the very name – Pedrali Collaborative Space – it is clear that the guiding principle behind the design was to create a contemporary, dynamic and flexible workspace, developed through the modulation of an innovative layout that focuses on the comfort of the people who use these spaces everyday.

The last few years have been rethinking the workspaces with new cross, hybrid areas that move away from the static nature of traditional offices. The modern workspace is no longer just a work area, but a community space that fosters company culture and encourages interaction, sharing, and collaboration. The result is a mix of functional areas that serve as a setting for Pedrali products which, placed inside a neutral container, are displayed and used in perfect harmony with the architectural volume thanks to the refined selection of models, fabrics and colours.

Within the Pedrali Collaborative Space well-being and innovation go hand in hand. The furnishings can be customised and equipped with high-end mechanisms capable of adapting to the user. This adaptability is not just about comfort but also about giving individuals full control and management of their workspace, improving emotional quality, stimulating creativity and teamwork, and responding to the demands of the digital age.

The evolution of work dynamics in recent years has led to a transformation of the workspaces into a place for social interaction, idea generation and community building. Its purpose is to facilitate collaboration, creativity, and learning. Fluidity and sharing are therefore identified as the key concepts that animate the 560 sqm of the Pedrali Collaborative Space, divided into three main areas: the contemporary workspace with multiple workstations, the meeting areas and the breakout rooms.

The terracotta-colour, a common thread linking the new workspaces to the company restaurant project, catches the attention of those who cross the threshold of the entrance to the workspaces building, whose access area is outlined by a double-height space, providing a sense of verticality thanks to the elegant and majestic presence of 25 Isotta pendant lamps by Basaglia Rota Nodari.

The smart office is characterised by 32 workstations spread over the entire floor, defined by the practical Arki-Table Adjustable Desk, which guarantees maximum comfort and ergonomics thanks to its heightadjustable top. The components of office furniture are evolving to achieve better performance, with the primary goal of enhancing people’s well-being. Through a mobile application installed on smartphones, users can save personalized settings for the Arki-table adjustable desk and set personal wellness goals, allowing for a combination of standing and sitting work.

A sound absorbing panel upholstered in fabric can divide the space between different workstations. Accompanying the Arki-Table adjustable Desk is Polar, designed by Jorge Pensi Design Studio, a task chair that ensures maximum customization in terms of ergonomics. Characterised by an organic form Polar is designed to adapt to the human body, ensuring the well-being of its users. A dynamic object with a clear identity, it can fit into a variety of settings such as workspaces and multipurpose spaces. The chair guarantees excellent comfort thanks to its weight-activated, synchro-tilt mechanism that is able to regulate the degree of tilting autonomously according to the user’s body weight. The backrest consists of an injected-moulded nylon frame with a breathable, flexible polyester mesh for a sense of transparency. The injection moulded polypropylene support at the lumbar area may be adjusted to the user’s needs. The seat, in polyurethane foam, can move via a special mechanism that allows its depth to be adjusted. Polar is available as a chair or armchair. The latter features minimalist armrests that can be adjusted in height, depth and width, and can be orientated to suit the user’s needs. The performance of the mechanisms makes the Polar armchair conform to type A of the UNI EN 1335-1:2020 standard, ensuring ergonomics principals and wellbeing in the work environments. Boxie, the wheeled storage system by Claudio Dondoli & Marco Pocci, completes the space.

During the working day, meetings are crucial moments that can affect the quality of projects, providing opportunities for enrichment and comparison. The Pedrali Collaborative Space hosts three well-organized meeting rooms, delimited by glass walls that harmoniously allow for dialogue while maintaining the privacy required by the context. In the central area, two rooms feature the linearity and rigour of the Arki-Table, surrounded by the Nym Soft armchairs by CMP Design in the first setting and the Laja armchairs, designed by Alessandro Busana, in the second – both with swivel bases. Elinor collection by Claudio Bellini characterises the third and last meeting area: the task armchair Elinor low back, with its dynamism, flexibility and attention to user’s well-being, synthesises the different attitudes and ways of experiencing the workspace of the future, is placed around the Elinor table, a multitasking product characterised by premium aesthetic credentials that meets the needs of a constantly-changing market. Elinor low back, characterised by a lower backrest and sinuous lines, is designed to seamlessly fit both in meeting rooms and executive offices. This task chair has an elegant height-adjustable base in die-cast aluminium. A weight-activated synchro-tilt mechanism integrated in the upholstered seat allows the tilting to be self-regulated according to the user’s body weight, ensuring that the back is kept in the most comfortable position. Other strong points of Elinor low back are its comfort and body hugging feeling, thanks to the polyurethane injected foam on both seat and back. A light, slimline, strong armrest in die-cast aluminium defines the base of the backrest with its fluid line, accentuating the attention to detail that characterises this collection.

Ypsilon Connect by Jorge Pensi Design Studio is a standout feature in all three spaces. This elegant and functional free standing, sound absorbing space divider offers extensive customisation possibilities, defining new layouts and managing spaces more effectively, adapting workspaces to corporate training or meeting room situations. On each side of the panel it is possible to add accessories such as whiteboards, shelves, coat hangers or, thanks to a special provision for the passage of sockets, enable the attachment of a screen.

To promote social interaction, the demand for breakout areas has grown, providing spaces for relaxation or breaks with colleagues. Toa table by Robin Rizzini, lightweight and minimalist, is characterised by a solid die-cast aluminium frame in a fluid geometric design, suitable to support large sized tops. Moreover, being endlessly modular in length and width, it’s the perfect choice for workspaces, shaping different settings such as “light” offices and executive rooms. Inside the Pedrali Collaborative Space, surrounded by Nemea chairs by CMP Design, Toa presents itself as a large convivial table with the dual function of a break or informal meeting space.

A more intimate area is provided by Buddyhub by Busetti Garuti Redaelli, a functional and efficient furnishing element, characterised by a wrap-around, sound absorbing panel, available in two heights, that envelops the seat in a sort of enclosed niche. Buddyhub is available as an armchair or sofa, and can be used as a quiet, sound-proofed temporary workstation. It is created to meet the needs of open spaces typical of a contemporary working environment. It is also possible to place two units opposite each other and to join them by means of a panel, thus creating a four-seat box suitable for an informal meeting, a phone booth or a break out area. The functionality of this element is further enhanced by the possibility of adding sockets both to the armchair and box versions, so as to be able to connect a charger. In this case, it is also possible to provide for a screen holder, a peninsula table or a shelf. The soft lines and clean design of the Buddy coffee tables by Busetti Garuti Redaelli add the finishing touches to the space.

In the Pedrali Collaborative Space special attention was paid to selected materials. The staircase ramps and the handrails are covered in natural oak, the same material used for the entire flooring of the workspace, which is floating and radiant with wooden square tiles. Another relevant issue in an open-plan workspace is the sound insulation. Running along the entire perimeter of the architectural structure – both along the glass and masonry walls – is a system of acoustic curtains. These curtains not only serve to soundproof the space but also allow for the management of natural light, creating a harmonious atmosphere and contributing to the perception of a neutral and homogeneous envelope. Also on the ceiling, a system of sound absorbing panels on tracks fosters concentration by creating an acoustically protected workspace.

Energy efficiency is a relevant focus in the project by Park Associati. First of all, a conspicuous thermal and acoustic insulation has been applied to the ceiling of the space to be heated. Secondly, a structurally integrated radiant system has been installed in the floating floor, providing both winter heating and summer cooling. This system is coupled with controlled mechanical ventilation for air exchange and summer dehumidification. The necessary thermal and cooling energy is produced by a heat pump with high seasonal efficiency. With a view to constantly improving the company in the wake of sustainability, the energy required to power these new workspaces is also generated by photovoltaic panels installed on the factories.

Inside the Pedrali Headquarters in Mornico al Serio, the Pedrali Collaborative Space stands for a place for exchanges and comparisons where well-being and comfort blend seamlessly with the fluidity and openness of the spaces: the same spaces that, every day, host everyday scenes from the Pedrali community.

If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more. 

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.

Welltek’s mission is to offer a complementary range of design-led solutions to support human needs and create office environments that not only inspire, but improve the health and wellbeing of employees. Explore some of the latest additions to Welltek’s workplace essentials! 

Bulo
For over 60 years Bulo has been creating, producing and providing quality furniture for the workspace and home. Several of their designs have become Design Classics over the years, including the Monica chair – a soft, organic lounge chair with a solid wooden structure and a ‘draped’ upholstered soft shell resting on it. The duality of the chair is based on contrasts between hard and soft, static and fluid.

Perfectly suited to hospitality, commercial and domestic settings, Bulo furniture raises the bar when it comes to elegance and sophistication. Made in Belgium, all upholstered furniture is available in a wide range of fabric and leather options to suit every individual project. The product range is vast and includes co-ordinated shelves and desks, soft seating, executive and dining chairs.

Chat Board
Welltek is proud to represent the Danish brand Chat Board in the UK as sole distributor. The original and first of its kind, the CHAT BOARD® magnetic glass board saw the light of day in 2003 as the joint invention of glass specialist Hans Henning Jensen and his hotelier daughter, Josefine Honoré.

The deceptively simple product was conceived from a wish to elevate the conventional marker board to a higher aesthetic level, and to encourage and strengthen visual communication by offering the definitive alternative to the generic magnetic whiteboard. Not only did it set a new industry standard as the first-ever floating, magnetic drawing board made of glass with no visible hardware, it really came to inspire the use of coloured glass surfaces as a powerful interior design feature.

Today Chat Board’s range includes wall-mounted and free-standing versions in a wide range of colours and sizes in classic or matt finishes. The mobile versions double as room dividers, with the option of class 1 acoustic panels to help create multi-functional spaces in any commercial, healthcare, or domestic setting.

If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more. 

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a modern and collaborative office design by 2022 SBID Awards Finalist, Elkus Manfredi Architects.

AEW Capital Management asked Elkus Manfredi’s team to design a culturally transformative workplace for its office in Boston’s Seaport District. Company leadership sought to offer a rich mix of options for employees to encourage collaboration, remove hierarchy, and enable people to work in an environment suited to their individual working styles. The design approaches the workspace in a new way­ – not as a container for staff, but as a tool for success and a model for health and wellness.

Well Gold and Well Health & Safety-certified, the reimagined 75,000-sf office features abundant daylight, sweeping views, a wide variety of work settings, and a collection of original artwork that speaks directly to the depth of AEW’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. Designers turned AEW’s office inside out, moving offices to the interior and positioning workstations, collaboration areas, and the employee café nearest the windows, where views can be enjoyed by the most people. A mix of meeting rooms, offices, workstations, and collaboration zones form work “neighborhoods.” Throughout the office, the ongoing dialogue between upscale and industrial elements creates an environment that is sophisticated while still comfortable and unpretentious, capturing the firm’s leadership position as well as its inclusive, approachable culture.

What was the client’s brief? 

AEW Capital Management asked Elkus Manfredi Architects to design a culturally transformative workplace for its office in Boston’s Seaport District. Company leadership sought to offer a rich mix of options for employees to encourage collaboration and mentoring, build community, and allow people to work in environments suited to their individual working styles so they could do their best work.

What inspired the design of the project?

From the start, our design team was inspired by the commitment of AEW leadership to their employees, by their open-minded and collaborative exploration of new ways of thinking about workspace, and the trust they put in us to achieve their vision. They were deeply immersed in exploring new ways of supporting their employees through design, from the choice of furniture for each neighborhood “back porch,” to the investment in the HELP art portfolio as part of their art collection, to pursuing – and achieving – WELL Gold certification. AEW stressed that they had a great firm culture and wanted to preserve and strengthen that. So their goal for the design was to create an office that was comfortable and casual enough for their unpretentious culture, while also upscale enough to reflect AEW’s global leadership stature for visiting investors and clients. We designed and built the project during the pandemic, so the employee engagement process was more important than ever.  

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

The client team and the design team needed to figure out together how to complete the project during the pandemic. Pivoting to remote work during design presented challenges for designers because there were finishes not fully selected at the time construction began as soon as the City of Boston allowed. To make selections as a team and get approvals from the client when we were not all in a room together, the design team had daily Zoom meetings and samples were sent to designers’ homes, clients’ homes, or to the office, where team members would go separately to review them. During construction, there were delays due to supply chain problems and construction site protocols, which, although necessary, took time away from the schedule­ – when someone tested positive for the virus, the general contractor had to send that crew home for a week. Pulling together under such adverse conditions was inspiring for both the client and design teams, which helped move the project forward in spite of obstacles.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

A huge highlight was how excited AEW’s employees were to come into the office when construction was complete. The design team was still going through punch list items and the AEW workspace was already filled with staff. This was before returning to the office was taking hold in any meaningful way, so the packed office was a testament to the success of the project. We all felt that a big part of the staff’s enthusiasm arose from the employee engagement co-creation process we utilized during the design period, which allowed everyone to become invested in the outcome.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

The office that grew out of our partnership with AEW combines the best strategic design thinking about the workplace of the future with the quiet integrity of AEW’s mission, the firm’s inclusive culture, and the leadership stature of its brand. It is a timeless but timely investment in the company’s future that will inspire AEW’s acclaimed workforce and attract top talent for many years to come. We wanted to share the AEW office with SBID’s audience as an example of a “magnet” workplace, an office co-created with employees where they choose to be because they know it’s where they can do their best work.

Questions answered by Elizabeth Lowrey FIIDA, RDI, Principal, Elkus Manfredi Architects.

In this week’s interview with 2022 SBID Awards winners of the Workplace Fit Out Project of the Year category, Modus Workspace, Kristy Foster shares how the team designed an office that responds to the occupants’ needs and encourages socialisation, as well as how they incorporated playfulness into a professional setting.

Outstanding office design means removing barriers to communication, encouraging interaction and creating a positive environment in which people can thrive. The Numis project seeks to create such a place. 

Firstly, tell us a bit about the design of your project. What were the key ideas, concepts and processes behind it?

The design brief was simple. “Take the company to the next level in terms of the client and staff experience – provide best in class facilities and encourage interaction and communication. And don’t forget to allow for 10 years seamless growth…!!”

The space selected was spread over three levels, so immediately we considered the potential for an accommodation staircase to dynamically connect all parts of the organisation, promoting interaction and a sense of togetherness. To further breakout areas were strategically placed to maximise accessibility to the external terraces.

The design exploits the stunning views of London’s skyline by creating an open, unhindered view to the horizon on entry to reception, this played a vital role in curating an impactful client experience.

What was your biggest takeaway or highlight from completing this project?

The highlight would have to be seeing how happy the client is in their new space. It is an amazing feeling to see clients not only enjoy the space for themselves but also be excited to show it off. We have built a lifelong relationship with the client team which is another huge highlight of the project.

What has winning an SBID Award meant for you and your business?

Winning an SBID International Design Award is a super high achievement and one in which we are incredibly proud. Being evaluated by both leading industry experts as well as the public is what makes this win so special, highlighting the projects attraction to a wide demographic.

How do you see the workspace designed for people to thrive in? What makes it different from regular offices?

With Numis we created a uniquely tailored workplace setting that adheres to the needs and requirements of the business. This was done by conducting a survey during the concept stage of the project to gain a detailed understanding of the types and amount of collaboration settings, meeting spaces and everyday amenities needed by the individual neighbourhoods.

One main breakout area allows all neighbourhoods to connect and meet, allowing teams that cannot sit near one another due to separations to come together to work and socialise. The main circulation route and staircase which runs through the heart of the workspace further adds to this notion of togetherness, brining teams together quickly and efficiently.

What was the most important thing to keep in mind when designing an office focused on communication and collaboration?

Firstly, it was essential to know how and where teams interact by putting ourselves in our clients’ shoes as it were, fully understanding their day to day needs. Creating dividing spaces to break up desk areas helped to create a collaborative focal point for each neighbourhood, enabling teams to work as efficiently as possible. The large breakout space provides a suitable space for hosting events, with the ability to place large screens for town hall meetings or to watch sporting events, homing in on this sense of communication and collaborating from a social perspective. Taking this even further an auditorium space kitted out with state-of-the-art technology and practical seating provides the client with a more formal gathering space, ideal for internal and external gathering.

How did you make sure the employees could stay focused and find privacy in such an open and collaborative space? Was it challenging to keep it professional while also introducing vibrancy and playfulness into the office?

Adding quiet pods, phone booths and zoom rooms enabled employees to choose focused settings to work in, all of which were not bookable, increasing their flexibility. In general, the company worked in a relatively quiet environment, so keeping the team focused wasn’t a huge challenge. Some acoustic solutions were applied in collaboration and meeting areas to reduce reverberation, but due to the nature of the business and its culture not much more was required.

The fact that we had three floors to work with enabled us to be playful with the space. The 7^th and 8^th floors had their own unique look in comparison to the 9^th floor. The client focused 9^th floor was a high-end luxury space with bronze metal, stone worktops with indulgent fabrics applied to the joinery pieces. The working floors on the other hand incorporated a handful of playful colours. It was this client / working floor separation that gave us some extra wiggle room when designing for both playfulness and professionalism.

Questions answered by Kirsty Foster, Senior Designer, Modus Workspace.