6 Amazing Office Designs Outside London

Facepunch Studios – Birmingham

Gaming developers Facepunch Studios were looking to establish an exciting hub for their employees to come together in a more accessible city-centre location. Bespoke curved joinery and vibrant branding create a distinctive visual identity for the workplace, inviting staff to connect with their brand whilst promoting collaboration and innovation amongst their teams.

Combining work, gaming and social spaces, this unique office space provides staff with the necessary facilities and more. Exclusive amenities include a bar station, barber shop, an immersive arcade space and communal gaming areas, whilst dedicated refuge spaces promote wellbeing in the workplace and give people a choice of environments dependent on their needs. Soft seating, ambient lighting and a warm colour palette combined with biophilia help to encourage relaxation, coupled with luxury social spaces that create a destination workplace to draw workers in.

Chrono24 – Bishops Stortford

Luxury pre-owned watch specialists Chrono24 were looking to bring their various teams together into one workspace. Given the nature of the business, their office needed to combine experiential client space with effective workspace for their watchmakers, to create a holistic work environment that caters to the needs of their staff whilst providing sophisticated space to host clients and deliver a luxury experience that is unique to Chrono24.

Chrono24 tasked us with renovating a Victorian barn with adjoining cowshed located Hertfordshire countryside to form a fully functioning watchmaker’s workshop, client experience suite and back-of-house office space. Merging multiple operations and functions within two unique buildings, the barn was transformed into a sophisticated triple-height workspace that blends the building’s history with modern design, whilst the cowshed became the central hub housing the Watch Atelier and staff spaces.

Grant Thornton – Birmingham

Grant Thornton’s new Colmore Row workplace needed to maximise on flexibility and support their adoption of a new hybrid working policy. In order to attract staff into the office, the design prioritises collaboration space to give staff opportunities for in-person interaction that can’t be found working from home. Private and focus workspaces were also introduced to ensure that the office caters to a range of work styles and tasks, promoting the office as a productive space for all staff.

In addition to the varied workspaces, an informal breakout area and teapoint provide communal space for employees to connect with each other. A hand drawn illustrated map of Birmingham lines the wall of the teapoint, linking the office and its people to the surrounding area, contributing to a cohesive social space that unites a hybrid workforce.

GAMA Healthcare, Hemel Hempstead

To encourage staff back to the office after the pandemic, GAMA Healthcare’s workspace is designed to accommodate hybrid working. The 20,000 sq ft office space in Hemel Hempstead is built with all the necessary facilities for GAMA’s various teams to work effectively under one roof, from a world-class training suite to agile spaces found throughout the floorplan complete with flexible furniture solutions to enable new ways of working for staff.

Overlooked by two treehouse meeting rooms, statement bleacher seating sits in the core of the space and forms a bright, central breakout area within the office leading to a large kitchen and games area. The agile design of this office space gives GAMA’s staff a choice of task-based workstations to suit their different departments alongside a variety of social spaces to bring staff together in a more informal setting to relax and have fun.

Pexip – Reading

Experiencing significant company growth, Pexip relocated to the tech hub of Reading in order to increase their access to regional talent and maximise their expansion. Pexip wanted to create an energising office space that would provide staff with functional workstations and an improved workplace experience.

The new workspace contains plenty of social space and desirable amenities that will encourage talent attraction and motivate existing employees to use the workspace. Pexip demonstrate a commitment to their occupants’ wellbeing, not only providing space for relaxation and interaction but ensuring access to outdoor space and maximising natural light indoors. Their staff will benefit from a vibrant, productive work environment that prioritises their comfort.

Minicam – Manchester

Minicam’s relocation to Manchester looked to bring their production, research and development, and office functions under one roof in order to reimagine their way of working. Their new property combines office space with manufacturing sites to enable the business to operate from one location and promote better connectivity amongst a previously disconnected company.

Their projected expansion meant Minicam needed to establish a community hub that would create a united company culture as they grew whilst supporting a unique combination of working needs. The resulting space forms a transparent working environment that links their operations and back-of-house together and breaks down barriers between teams with dedicated workspaces for the mixture of functions.

The shift in working patterns has opened up a broader selection of office locations across the UK, with impressive buildings such as 103 Colmore Row in Birmingham and lower costs in areas like the South East attracting businesses looking to set up in alternative locations or move out of Central London. However, with evolving workplace expectations, the challenge is making the office a desirable environment for employees to work from. This will push companies across the UK to provide staff with the right amenities to help foster a sense of community and enhance workplace culture.

Whether you’re looking to refurbish your regional office or relocate across the UK, our studios in London, Manchester, Birmingham and Guildford can help to create amazing workplaces across the UK.