CASE STUDY KINGSLEY NAPLEY
di icult circumstances that we faced. It was
also a pleasure to work with Rainbow whose
diligence and enthusiasm meant that the
project ran as smoothly as possible.”
There are a variety of seating solutions
scattered throughout the building, ranging
from chairs upholstered in Kvadrat Twill
Weave 530 for the reception area to a mix
of low and high seating in the restaurant
that boost additional features such as
under booth lighting. There are a variety
of innovative ‘meet and work’ booths
positioned around the o ices to enable
privacy without recourse to formal meeting
rooms, a selection of low and high seating
for informal gatherings and a generous
selection of chairs, sofas, and co ee tables
on all floors.
Although the firm has been able to cut back
on formal workstations it hasn’t stinted on
their quality with all workstations supplied
by Ergonom, as Jesse explains: “good seating
is a fundamental part of an individual’s
experience within the space.”
Space saved by o ering an agile working
environment has freed up more room to
install additional areas geared towards
meeting physical and mental good health,
including a treatment room, fitness studio
and meditation space, furnished with soˆ ,
comfortable materials to encourage mental
respite from the busy working day. Finally,
biophilia is a key sustainability component
of the finish, with copious planting installed
throughout each floor.
26 MARCH 2022
FEEDBACK
So far, reports Jesse, feedback has been
excellent, exceeding all expectations.
He says: “Our people were just stunned
and fortunately in terms of the budget
we didn’t spend on partitioning (with my
finance background, everything is about
money), so durability and comfort has been
achieved so we’ve stylistically been
able to marry the concept,
comfort along with
environmentally and
durability.
“We knew we
were trying to fit
in a lot in a
relatively tight
floor space, but
when we took
a pulse survey
in January 2022
we were pleased to
find that people are
using all of the spaces
and the furniture installed
to varying degrees, maybe so far,
not so much in stand up working areas, but
we always said we’d revisit all the design
choices. Although it’s still quite early to judge
occupancy rates, before Omicron we were
reaching about 40 per cent occupancy and
that is when we were not pushing our agile
working policy too hard.”
In terms of a wholescale return to the
o ice, Jesse is anticipating people will ease
back in when they’re comfortable and from the
beginning of March the firm aims to reintroduce
its o icial agile working policy. He reflects that
currently, quite a few of their people actually
like working on a Friday, though as with most
organisations the busiest days tend to be on a
Tuesday or Thursday.
Given the positive example Kingsley Napley
has set with its o ice overhaul, a lot of
competitors are very interested in how the
agile working model could work for them,
and Jesse has rather courteously shown
a number of legal contemporaries
around the new workspace to
demonstrate how it’s done.
Looking back, people often ask
what we’d do diff erently, but I don’t
think I would have changed anything.
My advice would be to think about making
changes like these as early as possible,
So what advice would he give
professional firms considering a
move to agile working?
“Looking back, people oˆ en
ask what we’d do di erently, but
I don’t think I would have changed
anything. My advice would be to think
about making changes like these as early
as possible, begin the process as quickly as
begin the process as quickly as
possible, and don’t do it on your
possible, and don’t do it on your own or you’ll
fail. Get the right people involved, both those
who’ll have a major stake in the outcome and
the expert advisors who’ll help you ensure its
success.”
(i) www.fmj.co.uk/lawful-change
(ii) www.kingsleynapley.co.uk
(iii) www.kkssavills.com
(iv) www.rainbowdesign.co.uk
Images: Timothy Soar - Interior Architect: KKS Savills
own or you’ll fail...”
/lawful-change
/www.kingsleynapley.co.uk
/www.kkssavills.com
/www.rainbowdesign.co.uk
