Global Investment Bank

After initially being approached by our client, a leading financial services institution, we were excited to get going and begin the fit out process for their new London office based in the city. The brief was very specific, with two distinct sides to the business (both Investment Banking and Security), both departments’ working areas must remain separate and secure, sharing nothing but break out facilities and client meeting rooms. With IT infrastructure being critical to the running of the business, we were to work alongside a global IT consultancy team, connecting with both the US and UK IT teams, to formulate a working solution. Our client’s request was for the overall aesthetic of the office to be “elegant, not opulent”.

In the open plan areas, we opted for productivity boosting sit/stand desking, complete with dual cable trays to house the sensitive IT equipment and UPS fed power circuits to ensure the Securities team would not be impacted should there ever be a power failure to the working floor. To help encourage the popular “clean desk working approach”, lockers were introduced instead of standard pedestals. Live plants are housed in the open plan areas to improve the overall aesthetic, but also to boost staff wellbeing.

The lift lobby was fitted with lounge furniture, with our client’s logo mounted in a brushed bronze finish. The partitions were double glazed, complete with Sonik doors to aid sound attenuation, a MF ceiling was installed to create a conventional office feel, while the loose lay LVT flooring provides access to underfloor ventilation and IT infrastructure for future maintenance.

The chilled beams in the building posed a challenge due to the amount of pipe work we had to navigate with the partitioning, which contributed to forming the cellular layout. We needed to reach a balance between the practicalities of proficient sufficient airflow for the chilled beams to operate, whilst coming up with an aesthetic pleasing design. Our solution was to build a ceiling margin around the top of the partitions, with the existing mesh grill forming a central feature within each office. This then enabled us to fit insulation above the margins between the rooms, missing the pipe work and allowing easy access for future maintenance.