Landmark’s Royal Exchange office space in London|||
Serviced office provider Landmark has refurbished eight of its office spaces across the UK, responding to feedback on what makes the optimum work environment.
The firm has overhauled sites in Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester, as well as four in the City of London, commissioning interior architect firm Design Command to create a new concept with zones that combines social and collaborative spaces with private areas and spaces dedicated to meetings. The serviced office space has moved towards an open-ended approach to the workspace following an initial pilot with feedback from existing clients and potential occupants, and said that the refurbished offices are designed with a focus on improving productivity throughout the day.
Demand for flexible office space has risen rapidly around the world in recent years, with co-working startup WeWork transforming into an office space giant in less than a decade. According to a BBC report late last year, flexible workspace companies took up one sixth of all new commercial property in London and grew rapidly outside the capital, particularly in Birmingham and Manchester.
In its refurbished offices, Landmark has put a focus on making the most of the natural light, particularly in the open breakout areas designed for collaboration. Areas of different heights and levels of privacy – including sofas and coffee tables, islands, meeting booth seating and entirely private offices – offer different options for the people and businesses working within the space. The firm said that due to its office improvement works, it had doubled its number of members in 2018.
The market for flexible offices is still a relatively open one, with local and smaller scale providers still making up the majority of flexible workspace, according to a report by office broking service Instant Offices. Their analysis also suggests that increasingly, flexible workspace is not just the provision of sole traders and small businesses, with “scale-ups” and large businesses looking to flexible providers for their offices.
Though some commentators have raised concerns of the rapid growth of the industry – in particular singling out WeWork’s rapid growth and the borrowing associated with it – the demand for flexible workspace, whether co-working, serviced offices or a combination, has reached record levels and will continue to shape the design of office space.
Landmark has refurbished eight offices with new zoning concept by Design Command
