Creating a workspace that matches the creativity of the staff was the order of the day for the in-house project of HKS studio, which decided to get people moving and meeting each other.

Key facts

PROJECT: HKS studio, London
CLIENT: HKS
DESIGNER: HKS
SIZE: 766 sq m
COST: Undisclosed
COMPLETION TIME: 6 weeks

Project description

Until recently, the London studio of USA-based HKS Architects just didn’t live up to its dynamic workforce. ‘We needed an office that supported what we do and that showed our clients and peers that we are serious about design,’ says the firm’s head of interior design Mark Simpson.

HKS worked with fit-out company Cameron Black to create a stylish office that buzzes with creativity and asserts the company’s creative approach to architecture. It has freed up space on the office floor, encouraging employees to move around the office, talking face-to-face rather than emailing each other.

A spacious, sophisticated reception has been modelled on a hotel lobby, with a long reception desk by bespoke furniture maker Installations, and black leather Tulip chairs and round Eileen tables with distinctive cross bases, both by B+B Italia. Photographs of HKS’s recent projects take pride of place on the walls.

The new open-plan workspace feels relaxed and social. All extraneous elements have been removed to make room for the most important part of the company – its employees. The office floor is no longer cluttered with waste-paper bins, printers and water coolers. Instead, there are smart liner desks by Dynamobel with task chairs by Knoll and individual desk lamps by Artemide. Bold, striped carpets byMilliken echo the linear configuration of the desks.

Architectural plans have also been incorporated into the design of the office, with pin boards on one wall where work is displayed and a window graphic at the entrance to the main office, which was inspired by architectural drawings.

HKS decided against individual offices, opting instead for a more cohesive workspace to promote interaction between staff at all levels, but there are quiet areas, called ‘study booths’, where employees can escape from the throng of the busy office.

Arranging desks and stools by the windows has created versatile meeting and working areas, and these popular for informal meetings with visiting clients and by employees taking a break.

HKS is a practice that likes to have fun, and numbers its meeting rooms as 1,2,3 and 5 – meeting room 4 being the Nelly Dean pub on nearby Dean Street. Each meeting room is equipped with audio visual and video conferencing as well as display walls for design reviews and presentations.

Meeting room tables are by Dynamobel and chairs are Eames Aluminium by Vitra. The meeting rooms are also the venue for ‘Beer Fridays’, where employees can wind down while they watch architecture films or discuss projects over a drink.

Project Suppliers

• Main Contractor: Cameron Black – www.cameronblack.com

• Artek – www.artek.fi

• Artemide – www.artemide.com

• B+B Italia – www.bebitalia.it

• Dynamobel – www.dynamobel.com

• Form and Function – www.formandfunctionkitchens.com

• Howe – www.howefurniture.com

• Installations – www.installations.org.uk

• Knoll – www.knoll.com

•Milliken – www.milliken.com

• Praxis – www.praxislimited.co.uk