Birmingham consultancy delivers global firm’s new London office

The Birmingham office of interior design consultancy Office Principle has completed work on a 40,800 sq ft office in London on behalf of leading built environment consultancy Arcadis.

Two floors of a Grade A 14-storey office development in Fenchurch Street includes collaborative working spaces with open plan desks, private rooms, project areas, touchdown areas, call rooms and informal meeting areas.

Employees will also benefit from touch-free desk booking systems and the ability to control individual temperature and light settings in enclosed spaces.

Tina Batham, joint managing director, Office Principles North, said: “The pandemic has given organisations the opportunity to take stock of their existing working environments and consider whether they are really fit for purpose or reflective of their culture. The office is no longer going to be about sitting in rows or clusters with colleagues, it’s about delivering a destination and an experience. Our design for Arcadis at 80Fen was informed by a huge amount of workplace data, which shaped the delivery of a sustainable and inclusive workplace, and embodies the firm’s people focused culture. It’s an environment that will bring people together to innovate, collaborate and socialise, giving employees autonomy to manage where they work, in a way that best suits their needs.”

Mark Cowlard, CEO of Arcadis UK and Ireland, added: “The move to 80Fen represents an exciting new chapter for Arcadis. Over the last 12 months, we have been helping our clients chart a path to recovery, and are now practising what we preach through a flexible, inclusive, sustainable, and digitally-enabled new London base. We firmly believe that we still need offices and office space, but it must be a different type of space that reflects the changing nature of the work-day and our workforce.

“For us, 80Fen isn’t just a one-time fit-out, it’s a step change in how we use and curate space. It’s about people working in a very different, more mobile, flexible and even healthier way; which they can do at 80Fen. This approach has been reinforced by changes to the way we work during the pandemic, but for Arcadis, the shift started long before, and we can’t wait to settle into our new home.”