FMJ.CO.UK INTERVIEW FOCUS
OCTOBER 2019 35
they’re not having to liaise with six di erent
companies a day but instead can say, ‘you
lot are in charge.’ In practice this means that
once we start a project, for example, the
project manager can’t blame the interior
designer and vice versa. We have to ensure
the detail is covered from start to finish.”
Rees is an architect by training but got
into project management because he liked
the fact that “as a PM you can participate
more in projects than as an architect”. LXA
now has around 35 people in London, 15 in
Dubai and a handful of people in Bangalore
in India. Commercial clients include
Facebook and law firm Mishcon de Reya,
with hospitality clients including Mark
Wahlberg’s new London restaurant chain
Wahlburgers, Emirates Retail Group and Le
Cordon Bleu.
RADICAL PROPOSAL
LXA’s reasons for moving were not
particularly unusual, but its solution
certainly was. Following a flood in its
previous o ices, the company moved into
a coworking space as a quick fix, which
according to Rees did not work for them.
“They’re great for start-ups,” he comments,
“but the novelty runs out very quickly, as
during my working day I don’t want
to use a pool table or drink
beer.”
However, what he
does like to do
is use a boxing
gym, and it so
happened
that the
one where
he was a
member
was closing
down. “As a
company we’ve
been involved
with several gyms
before, so I thought we
should set up our own gym
in a railway arch or something,” he
explained. Instead, when a property agent
friend found the 2 London Bridge Riverside
property, they put their heads together and
came up with something radical.
“I went to see it and he suggested ‘this
can be your o ice and your gym’. The idea
was a community for working, training and
eating, and as you see on the front of the
space, we call it 2LB, short for 2 London
Bridge, but with the theme ‘to live better’.”
LXA partnered with Richard ‘The Secret’
Williams, a former Commonwealth and IBO
world champion boxer, to create The Secret
Boxing Gym to deliver professional-level
boxing training and classes alongside other
high-intensity interval training, cardio and
yoga classes. All this takes place alongside
the café and o ice, within a fitness studio
where the huge picture window allows
users to feel as if they’re training outside –
especially when the doors are open.
The other innovation was the
installation of the To Live Better Café,
which is located alongside the gym at the
entrance to the building. Like the the gym,
the café was created, designed and fitted
out by the in-house LXA teams. Following
some discussion on whether to use an
external catering franchise, “we thought,
why not do it ourselves? Our hospitality
director has opened over 80 restaurants,
so since we’re helping others set up bars
and restaurants, why not do it ourselves?”
He continues: “The café sta were
recruited to work for us and they serve
local produce from neighbourhood
suppliers at Borough Market. From a
design point of view, if it were a franchise
it would be their design, but this way all of
the branding works together. And the café
is also the common denominator within
the space, so that when people finish their
workout they’ve got a main communal
spot to sit, whether they are a member of
sta or a client.”
In terms of the o ice and studio
space, LXA carried out
the interior cat A/
cat B fit-out itself,
commissioning
a feature
wall in the
raised floor
boardroom
that was
installed by
a polished
plaster
professional.
The three
LXA letters have
been subtly placed
They’re great for startups,”
he comments, “but the
novelty runs out very quickly, as
during my working day I don’t
want to use a pool table or
throughout the interior
of the studio to reinforce
drink beer.”
the brand.
All the o ice occupants have fixed desks,
though there is a nod to flexible working
with a workbench running alongside the
window. But the greatest element is the
view – all the teams, including branding,
hospitality, design, construction and
project management, can gaze out at the
river. This gives the workplace a clean,
unfussy appearance.
“When you’re in our workspace, the
view will always be the focus of attention,”
says Design Director Dave Rooney. “We
acknowledged that and elevated our
meeting and client room so you can
always have a view of the river and St