Carbon costs associated with property development have become key considerations for stakeholders. This is reshaping the relationships involved with creating today’s workplaces. With projects aiming to reinvent existing buildings to become an innovative mix of offices, co-working space, conference, and meeting facilities, collaborative approaches are the solutions to breathing new life into aging assets.

Property investment and development firm MEPC and Milton Park Innovation Centre Managers, Ashdown Phillips, worked with SRA Architects from the early design and brief development stages of the Bee House flexible workspace project in Oxfordshire.

Studies were undertaken to get the right mix of suite sizes alongside co-working, breakout and meeting spaces, as well as an extensive review of finishes. SRA proposed a palette which reportedly balanced smooth and glossy surfaces such as the glazed screens with soft and textured finishes including the characterful oak flooring, and carpet tiles.

The main contractors on this refurb project were Barnwood Construction, with flooring contractors Rudge Brothers and James Flooring working on the installation.

The Bee House concept reportedly came from the discovery of the site’s ‘what3words’ location, a geocode system designed to identify any location on the planet accurate to three meters using three words. The onsite café, later called the Hive Café’s is located at ‘feasted.cloud.honeybees’ which inspired the design team to reflect in the interior design, with hexagons, flowers, signage, and art.

Shaw Contract says: ‘From a specifier perspective, achieving BREEAM Excellent was important, so a floor finish with robust environmental credentials and Cradle-to-Cradle certification was necessary.
Kindred carpet tiles in style Dream were specified for the offices in the colour Slate which work with whatever interventions occupiers would make. All five styles in the Kindred collection including Belong, Dream, Illusion, Memory and Together are available as a 50x50cm tile on TaskWorx backing containing 75% recycled content.’

The company adds: ’Our Haven collection in style Identity was chosen for its rich textural appearance and colour range. It was the suitable choice for front of house areas, with the aim of evoking a home-from-home feel and complementing other finishes to echo the contemporary ‘resi-mercial’ aesthetic.

‘All styles are Cradle to Cradle Certified and are made in the UK at Shaw Contract’s carbon neutral manufacturing facility in Sanquhar, Scotland.’
www.shawcontract.com