Wise needed a new workplace destination to attract and retain talent. Their employees (Wisers) wanted a hybrid model of working – flexibility to work from home with an adaptable office space to connect and collaborate with each other.
The design celebrates the local Shoreditch neighbourhood and the iconic Tea Building. We put the focus on the brand and creating a greener workspace, bringing the outside in. We created areas with function and purpose around the central theme of connectivity, connecting the space across floors and incorporating technology for seamless virtual collaboration.
It was important to have a balance of spaces to meet employee needs, like furniture pods for virtual meetings, hybrid rooms for animated activities, traditional meeting rooms and desks. Wellbeing and sustainability are central and we included a mix of fun spaces which speaks to the Wise culture.
Furniture was a key element of the design. For example, the Enchanted Forest is a welcoming space with picnic tables and hanging chairs shaking up expectations to provoke fresh thoughts and feelings around the workplace. Sustainability was embraced by using sustainable materials and methods. These include upcycling and reupholstering existing furniture and implementing forward thinking materials, like ROOM booths which are made of 1,088 recycled plastic bottles. The project received a Tétris Sustainability Code score of 67%, an impressive 8.5 times higher than the initial score.
It’s a great example of the workplace of the future, putting people at the centre of the design.
