Once the home of a newspaper, Herbal House in Clerkenwell is an exciting office space||An enormous central atrium spans the four storeys|The floors in Photobox Group’s HQ are CYMK coded|Photobox Group owns brands like Moonpig and posterXXL|The clever design incorporates a variety of different areas to make full use of the space|Modern furnishings were chosen to counterbalance the space’s industrial feel|Once the home of a newspaper, Herbal House in Clerkenwell is an exciting office space|||
Photobox Group, owners of such brands as Moonpig and posterXXL, has taken over 37,000 sq ft of office in a 1930’s printworks in Clerkenwell that once housed the Daily Mirror.
The digital products brand worked with Oktra to revamp the gargantuan space in the historic Herbal House to transform it into a modern headquarters that reflected its culture and values. “Our new HQ directly reflects our ambition to deliver amazing experiences for our customers as well as our teams,” says Jody Ford, CEO of Photobox Group.
Oktra and Photobox Group developed the office after carrying out an extensive analysis of the company’s own culture and ethos. They prioritised the need to create a supportive environment that would foster agile ways of working across the 400 employees located there. “Designing our new space around collaboration and agile-working gives employees the freedom to innovate for our customers and have impact at scale for the business and for their careers,” says Ford. “It’s also a new London venue where we hope to share, collaborate and learn with like-minded tech companies and talent.”
Once the home of the Daily Mirror, Herbal House is now the new Photobox Group HQ
Clustered around the numerous cross-functional squads that work autonomously across the brands, the four-storey, completely open-plan HQ moves beyond a traditional desk environment, offering each squad a variety of flexible work, daily stand-up and collaboration spaces. “We worked with Photobox Group to create a workspace that embodies their company culture and ethos. It was important that the design supported various work styles and provided different places to retreat to, whilst enabling collaboration and the sharing of ideas” said Dominic Dugan, senior designer at Oktra.
Because Herbal House has a strong printing heritage, which Photobox shares through their greeting card and poster business, it chose to showcase the industrial roots of the site. Exposed original concrete walls, pillars, ceilings and an original crane hanging over the reception are all key features in Oktra’s refurbishment, all of which juxtaposes harmoniously with the clean, modern and colourful design and furnishings throughout.
In a further playful nod to the buildings printing past, the floors are decorated according to the CYMK colour model, with each level decorated in one colour. These floors surround a vast industrial atrium – a dedicated events space viewable from anywhere in the HQ, which will be used for all-company meetings, knowledge-sharing events and meet-ups for the tech and creative industries in London.
Subscribe to the OnOffice weekly newsletter to get more top stories delivered straight to your inbox.
A 1930’s former printworks building is given a bold makeover inspired by the CYMK colour scheme for the makers of Moonpig.com
