A head office for a new media company in Clerkenwell, London.

A refurbishment of a 6000ft sq single floor of a large industrial building, to create an office for 60 people.

The client, innovators in the field of publishing, communications and marketing required a flexible space to allow teams to work in various configurations. ashton porter’s strategy separated the shell into three primary elements, the engine room for PC based teamwork, flexible meeting/reception areas and service space.

The engine room is dominated by a series of workstations connected to a single service bulkhead. The bulkhead wall unifies the main office space providing a docking bay for storage, and also carries air conditioning, networking and power. The overhead routing of power and networking from the bulkhead form an arcade and a central circulation spine. The workstations have a central service gully, and have a 6 metre clear span surface, supported only by steel plates at either end. The engine room floor is striped east to west allowing the late afternoon sun to lay a series of strips of light over the space, sometimes becoming indistinguishable from the material of the floor.

The reception is combined with the main meeting space that can be divided off with a sliding wall to create an open and flexible environment where both client and internal meetings can take place.

Teams in the company need to work in ever-changing numbers from one or two to a dozen. These teams can assemble for a day or up to several months. Any office user can plug into any workstation point and log onto any pc or phone. Their personal effects are retained in a custom designed pedestal trolley. When not in use, the numbered orange faced trolleys are docked into the service bulkhead.