The global management consultancy company has a team of around 40 employees based in this London office situated on the first floor of a 309 year old Grade II Listed building in Central London.
It was when the building’s Landlord upgraded the common parts of the office building, modernising areas including the lobby, stairwells and washrooms, that it highlighted to the company that their own office space was starting to feel tired and was in need of its own refurbishment.
Victor, Operations Manager explains. “Seeing the fresh new common areas of the building was really the catalyst to us agreeing it was time for us to give our own office a makeover. As a team we thrive on collaboration and modern working so it was also a chance for us to re-invent some of our working spaces and enhance our way of working further.
“We spent some time thinking about how we currently use the space and what we would want from it in the future. Key to our brief was ensuring we had open, modern and light space which would combine zones. Somewhere to think, somewhere to chat, somewhere to sit and work in an open team environment, but also keep an element of more traditional desk and meeting spaces.”
With layout designs agreed some partition walls were removed to give the office a more open feel. For the remaining walls they decided they would keep things simple with crisp white paint then add some splashes of bolder colours with a brand coloured orange feature wall contrasting with a bold blue feature wall.
The existing office space had fairly tired carpet tiles and the firm agreed it was time to replace this dated flooring with something a bit more special that would really transform the space and enhance the open flow and bright modern décor.
“We really liked the idea of a real wood floor. Bringing a little bit of nature into the working space, something that would feel natural and welcoming and not sterile like some typical office floor coverings.”
After a recommendation to get in touch with Barry from The Wooden Floors Specialists they were impressed with his knowledge of commercial installations and asked Barry to come back with ideas for an engineered wood floor for the office space.
Seeing the plans for bright spaces with lots of clean white walls Barry was quick to suggest the Fired Brick wood floors from V4’s Urban Nature Collection to add a warmer element into the design.
“He recommended them not only for the being high quality and able to live up to the heavy footfall of the office, but also to introduce warmer tones and some rustic qualities into the space. We all loved the idea of this contrast. Having this same wood floor finish throughout the office would look fantastic and connect all of the zones seamlessly.”
With all the design plans in place the team uprooted themselves into a temporary office for three weeks. With a lot of work to be done in a short period of time painters, electricians and the flooring team all worked around each other shifting office furniture and equipment around as they worked their way through the office spaces.
The wood floors were being installed on raised floors with a cavity below for cabling leading to a number of floor boxes where power and data cables could be accessed. The team expertly created cuts within the planks installation so these floor boxes remained accessible. The original carpet tiles were left down adding some extra noise insulation, with the engineered wood planks then installed on top.
“When we moved back into the office after our three weeks in temporary office space we were all wowed with how the finished space looked and the wood floors just looked amazing.”
“We had some new furniture, but even the older items felt new as the whole space felt completely modernised. It had such a different feel, so much lighter and airier than before, perfect to inspire our ethos for collaboration and openness.
“And we are thrilled with the wood floors which add such a natural and rustic element that softens the office space wonderfully. I have to say Barry and his team were outstanding throughout. Even with slopes in the floors and numerous door frames and cable boxes to contend with the finished floors are completely seamless. The new space has worked brilliantly for us as a team and clients who visit us are suitably impressed too.”
