Fitting out London's finest buildings
Technology giant Google is renowned for its state-of-the-art employee facilities envied the world over, and has undoubtedly paved the way in terms of 21st-century workplace innovation. So when it came to fitting out the company’s new London headquarters at 6 St Pancras Square, we knew this project would be anything but ‘ordinary’.
With an incredible 11 storeys to fit out, this project became one of our most extensive, complex and unusual. As well as traditional office space, the brief included lounge bars, barista stations, teaching kitchens, massage rooms and even a running track! Employees now encounter our joinery on every floor, whether they are working, exercising, eating, drinking or relaxing.
Above all, 6 St Pancras Square is an intensely purposeful workplace – an effect created by a variety of panelling in oak, perforated aluminium and varying shades of green fabric. We also completed two floors for YouTube, comprising meeting rooms and studio spaces. Here, the company’s signature red blends with veneer panelling and metal mesh to create a contemporary, urban workspace.
Central to the whole project was the creation of 160 Jack rooms, a concept developed by Google to address the problem of inflexible workspace which cannot keep up with a company’s ever-changing needs. Instead, the Jack room can be reconfigured over time, adapting to requirements in no end of potential combinations. However, these wooden cassettes needed to fulfil a set of stringent criteria.
Comprising industry-standard acoustic requirements, videoconferencing technology, and natural and sustainable materials, each Jack room also needed to be assembled by non-specialist staff. Following feasibility studies using prototypes, we refined the final design to bring these game-changing Jack rooms to life. We even took on additional factory space and a dedicated team just to process the 460,379 individual parts required!
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