Known fondly by staff and clients as 'the chicken coup', Spacelab's original office was no longer suitable for our growing team of creatives. Never one to follow the crowd, we decided it was time for a space radically different to the traditional office: a co-working hub. We wanted our space to be a living embodiment of task-based working and representation of our ability to deliver office design that looks beautiful and is operationally effective.
At the top of our wish list was an open plan space that exuded natural light: essential ingredients for transforming an unprepossessing commercial unit into a showcase for current and future clients. The problem was that the space was separated by two floors, leaving half the staff isolated in the basement. Following our ethos of evidence based creative design, we conducted a series of workplace studies to tackle the problem.
After identifying spatial requirements and potential integration and segregation levels, we made the radical decision to remove the original narrow staircase and cut through the floor slab, flooding the basement with natural light. The results of our workplace study allowed us to locate the ideal spot for the new staircase and ensure that the space on the ground floor was used to its full potential, despite the smaller floor plan.
The Lab by Spacelab is a multi-functioning, flexible workspace for people who create great spaces. It is designed to facilitate movement and foster collaboration through the large variety of strategically placed work and breakout spaces. As a result, our space is enjoyed just as much by the clients, who have the opportunity to experience the benefits of a well-designed space and a new way of working first hand, as it is by the team members who develop their own remarkable spaces from within the space.
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