Office Design and Visualization for IT Training Centre

2016, client and budget confidential

We were asked to develop an interior architecture scheme for an IT training company in an existing commercial office building.

Working closely with management and key staff of the business, we tailored a design process to their needs and culture, our goal was to define their practical requirements and facilitate an exciting new chapter in the life of their business with an inspiring new design for their workspace.

Brief

The brief was to transform a former retail space to comprise these functions:

1. An IT training suite for training in high- value software systems
2. A flexible office workspace
3. An enclosed meeting room and enclosed office for management functions
4. “Breakout” space for office staff and trainees 
5. Kitchen, bathroom and storage facilities. 
6. Special areas to conceal servers, routers and large format printers

Constraints

The clients had acquired an existing building with existing air conditioning, suspended ceilings, and lighting already in place. They wished to reuse these elements. Due to time pressure, they wished to avoid any major layout changes, or changes to the exterior which would create a requirement for planning permission, or Fire Safety Certificate applications.  

The client’s brief required a high proportion of the floor area be dedicated to service functions, but their priority was to maximise the public areas for training and sales. The service functions were condensed into residual spaces, such as the stairs under croft using very detailed bespoke design.  

Design Process

The clients, a small team of roughly 8 people, had a number of blue chip clients, to which they provided specialist IT training. We worked hard to understand the graphic identity and material culture of of the businesses they work with to position them within that field. Using the visual culture of their industry as a starting point, we created palettes of materials, colours and mood boards to tease out the tastes and preferences of the team.

Detailed Study of The Existing Work Space 

The clients already had an established workspace, which they had modified carefully to suit their needs. We felt this embodied a lot of thought about their processes and culture. The existing space had a rigorous “well managed” feel, and we tried to duplicate this air of efficiency in the new work space.  We did this by carefully measuring and recording the existing workspace, including critical equipment and how they had chosen to configure their existing equipment in the space.

Building Information Modelling

The next step was to model the space in Revit Format, creating a detailed BIM model of the building, we also designed and detailed some minor repairs and alterations to the structure.

We sketched designs for several possible layouts and worked through an iterative design process, hand in hand with the client and their team. The design process was highly successful, yielding a number of potential designs for the clients to choose from.

Production And Pricing Information 

The clients required a detailed design for the construction work, and to carefully define the agreement with their contractor. This included construction details for changes to the building, design of bespoke elements, specifications for interior finishes, and overall general arrangement drawings for the procurement of materials and the layout of modular furniture systems in the space.