SMRS are a marketing and communications agency. As experts in culture and employer branding, they work with organisations across all sectors to help drive change for the better. They approached our team at Ultimate to discuss how we could help to reflect their purpose, personality and sense of self by changing the look and feel of their Manchester Campus for the better too.
Hot on the heels of everyone returning to work post-Covid, we were asked to create a fun, innovative and hybrid workspace for SMRS’s employees. Jennie Rowe together with our design partner Electric Blue, was tasked with interpreting our client’s vision. It focussed on creating collaborative zones in which SMRS employees could feel connected as well as new ways to make better use of under-used spaces like their atriums and offices.
The main office was previously very functional. Rows and rows of desks failed to reflect the energy of the company or its values. This structure also no longer reflected SMRS’s employees more hybrid and flexible way of working.
We decided to reduce the number of desks by 30% to create space for a range of focussed zones. These new areas encouraged greater communication within the business as they enabled individual task-based activities to take place just as easily as larger team meetings. The reduced number of desks also encouraged hot-desking, promoted greater connection between colleagues and created an environment that was much more fit for purpose.
The under-utilised atrium was also given new life. We branded the space to reflect one of SMRS’s values – ‘ADD COLOUR’. And this created a vibrancy and sense of fun that had been missing. It also mirrored some design elements from the main office and encouraged employees to use the annex for meetings and for socialising too.
Client
Size
10,000 sq ft
Services
Location
Manchester
