Thoughtworks offices, London


An agile working environment for this software developer has been created by Morgan Lovell, in which everything has a purpose...


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Project Info

Client: Thoughtworks London
Architect: Morgan Lovell morganlovell.co.uk
Size: 645 sq m
Cost: Confidential


Words by Emily Martin

Morgan Lovell has created an agile working environment, in which desks aren't permanently allocated, pedestals don't exist and the office functions at a 45-degree angle... Tasked by software developer Thoughtworks to provide a 'flexible and multifunctional space where everything has a purpose', Morgan Lovell has captured the company's unique office culture and provided it with an innovative workspace to support what it calls an 'ad-hoc' work practice. I met with Michelle Carr, senior designer at Morgan Lovell, and Maneesh Subherwal, Thoughtworks' UK managing director, to have a look around.

Sticky notelets add colour and pattern to the office, while a table-tennis table is used as a work station
Sticky notelets add colour and pattern to the office, while a table-tennis table is used as a work station

Entering the first floor office from the lift, the same entrance used by visitors and staff, and I arrive to the front of house - termed the Community Hub. It is a bright, rectangular space and features a bar where co-workers and clients casually chat over breakfast and coffee.

Pull up a chair and work – there are no designated work spaces for staff, and all the furniture is mobile
Pull up a chair and work - there are no designated work spaces for staff, and all the furniture is mobile

There is also soft seating, from social enterprise Out Of The Dark, and a noticeably colourful corner space named the Kaleidoscope, with a feature light hanging above high stools and table, positioned by the floor-level set sash windows with coloured glass overlooking bustling Wardour Street below.

The rooftop terrace – every bit of space is used
The rooftop terrace - every bit of space is used.

The Hub is a cafe-cum-large family kitchen and eschews all references to an office. It's not until leaving the Hub and walking back past the lifts to enter the 'low activity' space, around the corner, that you enter an environment that's little more office-like - except it isn't. 'This is the transition space, designed to lead you in to the back of house,' explains Carr with the space featuring soft seating and window seats.

Sited next to the conference and meetings rooms, they are partitioned off at a 45-degree angle to make best use of the challenging internal space and avoid what would otherwise could have been an awkward and narrow corridor.

Continuing on to the back of house, on the other side of the lift, the office layout continues its 45-degree-angle theme to find space for cellular offices, desks and other workable nooks and crannies.

The Community Hub features seating by Out of the Dark
The Community Hub features seating by Out of the Dark

Morgan Lovell has ensured every space is usable: from scribbles and sticky-notes on the coloured glazing of partitions and doors, to the window bays, along the terrace elevation, that feature seat pads and a write-on surface. There is even an integrated pull-up laptop table, all designed to help staff focus at the task at hand. 'We have designed 26 alternative work settings, excluding meeting rooms and desk positions, to facilitate staff's need for a flexible working environment,' says Carr.

Walking past the lockers, which are used to store laptops and personal effects, Carr tells me that the company has a clear-desk policy, to help ensure a flexible work approach. 'The teams are rotated on a project-by-project basis and the desks are mobile to facilitate different team sizes,' she says. All furniture, including desks, are specified with casters for ease of movement. (I even spy a table-tennis table being used as a conventional workbench.)

Inside the Kaleidoscope
Inside the Kaleidoscope

Subherwal says that staff were involved as part of the design process, with Morgan Lovell running a series of design workshops. Thoughtworks, which was established 22 years ago by Roy Singham, is a 'people centric business' as reflected in the business's founding core values set out by Singham. Creating a space where staff can work comfortably (and productively) the company was also keen to provide a usable space that can be accessed and used on demand. And with a games room, library - not forgetting the Community Hub - there are a number of company-organised events for staff, with many continuing to use the space during leisure time and even coming in at weekends.

'We also plan to open it for local community groups to come in and use,' adds Subherwal, with Thoughtworks adopting a social responsibility role within the area it serves.

'We were also very keen to include Out of the Dark furniture as it's not only stylish, but we're supporting a social enterprise to train young people from disadvantage backgrounds.'

The offices also benefit from a small outdoor roof space - a rarity for a West-End location - which Morgan Lovell has transformed into a tranquil enclosed space, complete with a grassed-over lounge. The terrace also features a memorial, also designed by Morgan Lovell, for Thoughtworks MD Luke Barrett. He was killed in an accident while cycling to work during the design process, in 2014.

Inside there is also a feature brick-cladding wall that creates a backdrop to numerous works of art on display that tell the story of 'change'. The two features are powerful representations of the business and brings a level of sensitivity - or humanness - into the space.

Carr says: 'The design concept is for a dynamic and inviting space, which reflects the grown-up nature of Thoughtworks and supports its need to work in an ad-hoc way. This is captured in the flexible and multifunctional nature of the design.'

Suppliers

Furniture:
Eximious Furniture
Orangebox
Naughtone
Vitra
Out of the Dark

Partitioning:
Lizzanno

Flooring:
Bolon
Interface

Lighting:
Lightyears








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