FMJ Facilities Management magazine providing industry-specific intelligence to FM and property professionals
WELLBEING FOCUS
As a globally connected business, IFS have created a state-of-the-art customer experience centre. The floor to ceiling digital screens and ability to channel content globally creates a unique experience space that is fully immersive.
“The IX Zone has been designed from the perspective of the user and their journey. You enter through from the boardroom, the ceiling height lifting to three metres displaying exposed services which strike a balance between warm and welcoming and the ‘wow’ impact desired. The tech vision from IFS blew me away, it has been implemented in a timeless fashion which makes each user journey unique. This is very reflective of the IFS brand, the idea of trust and collaboration: it’s about bringing people into the IFS family,” says O’Callaghan-Mills.
That welcoming concept of wellness is found everywhere. A constant blend of warmth against exposed industrial features. For example, the café restaurant zone was warmed up and given a French brasserie theme with a mix of soft velvet finishes, warm timbers and a moss wall to one end. The playful section within the zone has been designed by a graffiti artist creating a work of art embedding the IFS values.
The sense of wellbeing is reflected in the café. As well as being 100 per cent subsidised with all of the food being made fresh on site daily by the caterers Thomas Franks, it is an inside outside space overlooking the Thames. Kathryn O’Callaghan-Mills explains: “We created a beautiful terrace outside from the restaurant area which overlooks the river. It gives everyone a sense of connectivity with nature – similar to the planting and building on biophilic design internally. That sense of wellness is echoed again in the creation of the gym space upstairs for staff to use.”
Every element of employee wellbeing is catered for, literally. Only nutritious food provided, plenty of natural light, showers, changing rooms and bicycle parking facilities and a location and connections to transport hubs that encourages an active and healthy lifestyle for everyone working at IFS or visiting.
“It’s a vision that we have started to roll out across the global estate,” says Carton. “It’s rooted in what works best for our people. Not just in terms of their productivity and engagement, but also their perception about how we operate and who we are.”
SUSTAINABLE INTERIORS
That means working towards as low a carbon footprint as possible, which in fit out terms is not always easy, especially on a project that had to be quick – the turnaround was all done in 10 weeks from June to August 2019.
“We are well aware that there is a lot of embodied carbon in existing buildings, so we wanted to avoid a fit out for the sake of it. Yes, we wanted to deliver on our vision for the space, but in a manner that did not impact on the environment.”
Area already had experience of this type of work, having been involved in some demanding schemes that won WELL Building and BREEAM highest accreditation levels for sustainability.
“We have strong relationships with our suppliers, so we could reassure IFS that we were using products and materials from responsible sources, but wherever we could we worked with IFS to reuse, repurpose and recycle existing furniture,” says O’Callaghan-Mills.
All task chairs were reused, sofas have been reupholstered, desk electrics were re-used, lockers have been refurbished and reused and the meeting room furniture was recycled. It all adds to the vibe of a dynamic, agile space that’s fun to work in. What’s more, whilst the values are apparent, they are blended in a light touch.
“There is a nod to our company heritage with the use of oak flooring and detailing in some areas,” says Carton. “And if you look closely you can see the herringbone pattern of our logo picked out in the flooring.”
“It has been a privilege to design for IFS.” says O’Callaghan-Mills. “So much thought and care went into every element of the building. It’s been a pleasure to work with a client team that has been really invested in the vision from start to end.”
Only it hasn’t ended. IFS have sites across the world and the plan, driven by their Executive Vice President of FM and Chief Digital and Information officer, Sal Laher, is for this to be rolled out globally. Bourne House in Staines is the template of the art of the possible.
