27-Arup Design engineering consultancy News 030708

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MOREYSMITH DESIGN ARUP’S NEW WORKPLACE IN FITZROVIA

Design engineering consultancy Arup has announced that interior architects MoreySmith have completed the first phase of the design of the office floors in their new building in Fitzrovia, London.

The Fitzrovia 2+3 building covers an area of 13,200m2. The first phase of redevelopment has replaced Haddon House and 8-10 Fitzroy Street, with the second due to encompass Howland House and 9-18 Maple Place by 2009.

Arup took the decision to appoint MoreySmith following a number of interviews with a range of design agencies and subsequent to the firm’s completion of a portfolio of impressive projects. MoreySmith has recently overseen the major refurbishment of Sony Computer Entertainment, and completed projects for CABE, Land Securities and EMI at their Global Headquarters in Kensington.

Multi-disciplinary consultancy MoreySmith enjoys a reputation for innovative and progressive design and is now celebrating in its fifteenth year in business. It has provided design services for the office accommodation on Floors 1–5, incorporating an insightful and creative design of the meeting rooms, project and team areas, printing spaces and coffee areas throughout, and the ground floor library

Director of Arup, Dick Lee, explains: “MoreySmith had the capability to match our tight programme needs but most importantly, we felt that their creative ability and innovative aspiration as designers would challenge us in the way we view our working environment and help us make the step change we were looking for. Their collaborative nature gave us confidence we would achieve it.”

The sympathetic redevelopment of the Fitzrovia building endorses Arup’s robust environmental credentials and its clear commitment to its employees; the firm is widely recognised for its focus on strong ethics, social usefulness, consistent values and a holistic approach to work and home life.

MoreySmith challenged the way in which Arup has traditionally approached interior design by transforming the space through the introduction of a series of innovative additions as part of the dramatic refit. Features of the project included MoreySmith’s skilful selection and inspired layout of a range of contemporary furniture. Diverse wall finishes, display systems, signage, graphics and storage were introduced to create a novel and appealing working environment for the Arup team.

Fitzrovia 2+3 will initially house 400 staff, but by 2009 is expected to accommodate over 600, largely within project and group open plan workspaces; the aim being to encourage group work in a light and spacious environment. Ultimately it will be occupied by a number of groups within three business sectors. The groups come with varying requirements and expectations and MoreySmith heavily researched all roles and the implications of these within the workspace in order to inform their design. This has allowed the interior to cater for the needs of employees requiring a corporate environment, while at the same time accommodating teams seeking a creative, design studio workspace.

Quiet rooms have been provided for concentrated work or when privacy is required and breakout areas of different natures on each floor will provide informal meeting spaces. The breakout areas are crucial to promoting more relaxed modern workplace practices such as the sharing of ideas, central to today’s ‘knowledge companies’. Elements of contemporary finishes and lighting combine to create an atmosphere that will encourage impromptu meetings and the exchange of ideas and information and collaborative problem solving.

To meet the needs of the disciplines and departments located on each floor these non-permanent workspaces have been designed to be adaptable and can accommodate large presentations, group meetings and events. All furniture can be dismantled and easily moved to suit changing group or project requirements. Vertical spaces on all floors provide areas for graphic exhibitions and project communication and multifunctional, bespoke finishes such as magnetic whiteboard panels have been introduced.

The combination of exposed ceilings in the team areas together with an open plan layout creates a crisp, clean and workable design studio setting for staff. Director of Arup, Dick Lee, comments: ‘We want to take the next steps to achieve a working environment which expresses and reinforces our aspirations, creating an environment that will encourage the finest work possible, both in the quality of the product and the efficiency of its delivery. We have a reputation as a firm that cares for those who work in it – about their health, comfort, motivation and security - our new offices will project these ambitions to clients, visitors and staff.’

Arup takes the view that with the threat of global warming looming large, the future for building design lies in convincing developers that sustainable equals profitable. At present, Arup is one of the rare design firms in the market place that holistically provides sustainable solutions. Using a multi-disciplinary team which includes engineers, architects, economists and even psychologists, they aim to proactively push the boundaries to define the legislation for sustainable design. The consultancy has presided over the master-planning of entire eco-cities like Dongtan in Shanghai.
Arup was voted 41 in The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For 2008 and in a staff survey of 4,079, scored highly on both its strong ethics and environmental sensitivity. The firm aims to “generate social, environmental and economic benefits” through its work.

Phase 2 is now available for occupation and Phase 3 is due for completion in 2009.

EMail: fphilip@thecommunicationgroup.co.uk