CITY & GUILDS
Aligning an overarching organisational objective - meeting the needs of the modern workplace to unlock the potential in its own staff, with a furniture partner that could match its own sustainability credentials, was the goal for this new build, six story headquarters project in the City of London.
We helped world-leading, vocational education expert, City & Guilds, (C&G) create its ideal workplace behind a preserved 1920s façade. The new building champions C&G’s sustainable building policy, with a range of environmentally responsible initiatives, coupled with a desire to prove it was forward-thinking in terms of new ways of working and creating a workspace fit for purpose.
Our design team worked with C&G’s facilities team to create a modern, flexible workplace, which allows people to work more effectively, in an agile environment that adapts to suit the task in hand. In essence, C&G has embraced our ‘Next Office Concept’ approach to activity based working, offering a variety of settings which are customised for different tasks, activities and work modes. There are places for people to concentrate, to contemplate and to collaborate effectively.
We were also delighted to demonstrate our ‘green credentials’ – attributes that have led to Kinnarps becoming the preferred furniture expert of environmental standard bearers, such as the IUCN, World Wildlife Fund and the Environment Agency.
"C&G has moved from an outdated workspace to a leaner more efficient use of space, where agility and variety are championed. It’s interesting to see how people are adapting to the new working style. It is going well and behaviour is certainly changing. People are learning that it is OK to move away from their desks and that we are encouraging them to work in different ways, according to the nature of the work they are doing.’
