61 Southwark Street
THE BRIEF
61 Southwark Street is the UK HQ, for this high-profile commercial property client. As the heart and hub of the business, the building has been designed to harness the energy and collaboration of their people to drive the future growth of the business, moving 5 separate offices under one roof.
As the company flagship, designed for meeting clients, and to showcase all the business’s services in one space, the aesthetic was important, creating maximum instant impact. Features include the C- Bar a café and collaborative networking area with the wow factor, executive client space, a training academy, and plenty of agile workspaces.
The successful project achieved all the goals set, reflecting the company’s capability, energy, and vibrancy, with room to accommodate a team of 720 staff.
THE SOLUTION
The design team had included planting as an integral part of the scheme, and, as the building has excellent levels of natural light, it makes for an ideal environment for live planting to thrive. In the C-Bar area, with its high ceilings, planting had been designed at the top of the pillars, this made for tricky access, so quality artificial planting was selected rather than live.
At lower levels, an abundance of natural planting was used and is a key design feature for this area. The overall effect is one of high impact, adding vibrancy and energy to this space.
Tropical plants were used, mixing large specimens (Monstera Deliciosa and Strelitzia) with smaller bushier varieties (Areca Palm, Croton Petra, and Peace Lily) to create a jungle feel.
The colour pallet of primary brights’ works well with the green of the plants to produce a mood-boosting feel. With so much space and light to play with, extra-large plants were selected throughout the communal areas such as Monstera Deliciosa, Kentia Palms, and Schefflera.
Across each of the work-space floors, the layout is uniform to give the same great user experience for all colleagues. A soft seating area for collaboration is given some privacy with large sturdy planters with mixed planting, opposite palisade planting which houses a screen, combining practicality with the softer, calming beauty of the plants.
Each bank of desk space also has its own planter, a neat box container featuring Sansevieria to give everyone their personal view of plants.
