Designing Workspaces That Encourage Teamwork
“We believe strongly that a culture based on collaboration and creating an environment where we can come together is essential”
Collaboration by Design
The approach to design for workplaces has seen a huge shift over the past decade, particularly towards creating a more elevated and domestic environment. Whilst we do not undertake much work in the commercial sector, the direction has been towards creating more elevated domestic or hospitality orientated designs.
There has been a general shift towards flexible working in the UK, with the advancement of cloud-based software and an acceptance of remote and flexible working, although this accelerated in an unprecedented way because of forced working from home during Covid.
However, businesses gain value through teams working together collaboratively, in the same space, particularly where mentorship and creativity are integral to the workflow. This approach was initially championed by software and technology companies including Apple, Facebook and Google, where they understood the significant added value of their employees collaborating in the same physical space. To encourage this, they invested heavily to create stimulating environments that encouraged their employees to work in the office, despite their core business being tailored to support remote working. This trend has gathered pace, with employers and businesses who understand the importance of this, following suit.
Our own studio environment reflects this. We operate a 40-hour working week in the studio, believing strongly that close collaboration in the same space is vital for the works we undertake, and for the mentorship and progression of architects.
We moved the studio to Bermondsey over two years ago, to provide a base which reduces commute times and increases our connectivity to our core project base in Central London. As with any move, this will always be a work in progress, although to date we have completed a thorough refurbishment, installing new toilet and shower facilities, new cycle store, staff kitchens, and a mixture of different spaces and seating areas, suitable for a range of meetings and collaborations. We are also fortunate to have a garden which we use, when the weather allows, and to host socials.
We’ve created a library for materials and journals, installed pin boards to use for in-studio design crits, introduced greenery and plants throughout, and commissioned bespoke furniture which was designed by the architectural assistants following an internal design competition.
Our incredible team is the studio’s single most asset, and we believe strongly that a culture based on collaboration and creating an environment where we can come together is essential.