Watch the AT webinar, in partnership with Geberit, exploring ways of designing more productive and fulfilling workplaces.
How can we design more productive and fulfilling workplace environments? What strategic moves are architects making to adapt and enhance existing building stock to deliver offices and studios where staff can work efficiently together and on their own? And how are new-build campuses being designed to create the optimum environment for workplace productivity? These questions and more were explored in this AT webinar, supported by Geberit.
Chaired by Jason Sayer, content and audience development editor at Architecture Today, the speakers comprised Jonathan Allwood, director at Barr Gazetas; Oliver Cooke, director at Cooke Fawcett; and David Ardill, partner at Sheppard Robson.
Speakers (from left to right) David Ardil, Oliver Cooke, and Jonathan Allwood.
Jonathan Allwood, presented the Grainhouse, a major retrofit project located in Covent Garden, London. Completed in 2023, this development spans about 90,000 square feet, with 70,000 designated for workspace and the remainder allocated for retail. Barr Gazetas’ client, Hines, served as both developer and occupier, using the top three floors as its new European headquarters.
“Our aim was to integrate four separate historical buildings into a single development, while retaining as much of the original fabric as possible,” said Allwood. “We had to work with different construction typologies, which made the design process quite complex, but also incredibly rewarding.”
Barr Gazetas’ heritage-led Grainhouse development in Covent Garden, London, combines flexible ground floor retail and leisure with sustainably-designed office space for SMEs on the upper floors (photo: Philip Vile).
The resulting design includes a central atrium that connects the buildings vertically and retains the site’s historic character. There was also a focus on creating a productive workspace by emphasising elements such as healthy building design, spatial connectivity, and a variety of work environments. The top floor includes a café and a guest welcome area, providing shared spaces for everyone in the building. Workstations and private offices are placed along the perimeter to maximise daylight, and communal spaces, such as the interconnecting stair, serve as gathering points to enhance team interaction. The building’s island-site location, with windows on all four sides, further emphasises access to daylight and outdoor views.
Space for collaboration is prioritised at Grainhouse with huddle rooms and generous break-out spaces complemented by focus rooms designed for concentrated working (photo: Philip Vile).
Connectivity was a critical aspect of the scheme, given the fragmentary nature of the site. The is addressed by linking spaces and creating a sense of cohesion across different areas. Partly developed during the pandemic, the office was envisioned as a commute-worthy environment where personal connections could thrive. The project demonstrates the challenges and rewards of retrofitting, which requires not only technical expertise but also sensitivity to creating workspaces that encourage collaboration and foster a sense of community.
Grainhouse reception space (photo: Philip Vile).
David Ardill discussed Sheppard Robson’s design for the TTP headquarters in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire – a project designed with a 100-year lifespan and built for adaptability, with an emphasis on modularity, circular economy principles, and the potential for continual reconfiguration.
The building’s layout comprises 15×15-metre modules, which can easily transition between office and laboratory uses, allowing flexibility as TTP’s needs evolve. With no element permanently fixed, the design enables rapid reconfiguration without waste, supporting a circular economy approach where all components can be reused within the building. This flexibility supports TTP’s fast-paced, technology-driven business, where team sizes and project requirements shift frequently.
Located in Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, Sheppard Robson’s campus for TTP – a new-technology incubator company – is designed to promote non-hierarchical, collaborative working (photo: Hufton + Crow).
“The only constant that we really had in terms of designing this space was to design for change,” noted Ardill. “Every module that we created can be fitted out to be laboratories or offices, and all the meeting rooms can be dismantled and relocated.”
Desks are individually assigned, which encourages employees to personalise their spaces, and eliminates the need for hot-desking. Client and staff zones are integrated, inviting clients to experience TTP’s working environment firsthand, rather than isolating them in separate areas. The layout is clearly delineated by color-coding different functions: green for meeting areas, blue for offices, and shades of red for lab spaces, both open and closed. Circulation paths throughout the building are designed to prompt chance encounters, supporting a culture of interaction and knowledge sharing across departments.
Open lab and workspaces in the Hive at the TTP campus (photo: Hufton + Crow).
Exposed concrete, bright accents, and subdued, neutral tones create a unified visual language. Services are strategically located under the floor, contributing to the building’s uncluttered look. Large windows and exterior shading balance natural light and reduce glare, enhancing comfort in workspaces that run along the building’s perimeter.
Wildflower planted banking against the Exchange, a circular pavilion that houses a restaurant and gym, as well as collaboration, agile working, event, and social space (photo: Hufton + Crow).
Oliver Cooke put forward his practice’s work for Cockpit Arts, a charity that provides studio spaces and business support, including mentoring and e-commerce guidance, for craftspeople like jewellers and woodworkers. Located in Deptford, London, the project involved transforming a 1960s office building into new studios, making the space more accessible, improving the public’s experience, supporting local makers, and promoting public interaction.
Cooke highlighted the challenges of integrating light industrial craft spaces in urban areas near residential developments. The area surrounding Cockpit’s Deptford site has seen significant development, particularly at Sun Wharf, where aggressive residential development has pressured the charity’s operations. After considering mixed-use redevelopment options, Cockpit decided against participating in larger developments, choosing instead to focus on enhancing their existing facility to better serve craftspeople in the evolving neighbourhood.
Designed by Cooke Fawcett, Cockpit Studios Deptford, London, is a transformative project aimed at opening up Cockpit for the benefit of makers and the local community (photo: Peter Landers Photography).
“This was an opportunity that a maker could take a step in their career towards thinking about how to work at scale,” said Cooke. “It’s a really integral part of making the building feel welcoming… transforming that front facade from a kind of down at heel graffiti wall to something which feels much more inviting.”
The project focused on enhancing the visual and functional connection between the building and its surroundings, making it more accessible and transparent. Originally, the building was disconnected, with an inaccessible front yard, but the new design introduces a sequence of public spaces that open up to a garden and a workshop area at the rear.
The new workshop and studio building at Cockpit Deptford (photo: Max Creasy).
A key aspect was collaboration with makers and craftspeople, evident in the creation of a craft garden with furniture maker Sebastian Cox, who selected plants related to craft, and the reuse of reclaimed materials. The new spaces also emphasise the makers’ experience, with carefully considered joinery and space for movable partitions being added – crucial for flexible educational spaces.
Elements of its original structure have been integrated too, such as the original front wall, now punctured by a metal gate that can roll open as and when necessary.
On the ground floor, the building’s facade has been redesigned with a Meccano-inspired arrangement to accommodate various functions like a café, foyer, and education spaces. The design carefully responds to the building’s existing features, such as refinishing the existing teak parquet floor, while minimal changes to the structure highlight its existing architectural elements.
Interior of the new wood workshop at Cockpit Deptford (photo: Max Creasy).
Studio spaces have been designed for larger-scale production, moving away from the typical repurposed or makeshift spaces commonly used by craftspeople. The success of the project, argued Cooke, lies in its ability to marry purpose-built spaces with informal, functional outdoor environments, fostering creativity and productivity. The informal use of these spaces highlights the flexibility of the design, supporting the dynamic needs of its makers.
Source: Architecture Today