The University procured two floors of a newly refurbished office building in the centre of Bristol to continue its move towards providing more student focused activities within the University Precinct, rather than Professional Services teams.

This project involved the full Cat B Fit-out of the ground and first floor with the inclusion of new partitions, wall and floor finishes, alterations to ceilings and associated fittings, and installation of power and data networks over 2,500sqm of office space to accommodate 140 full time Professional Services employees on the ground floor and 180 Research Users on the first floor.

The programme for both floors was principally the same and included:

• Open plan offices providing multiple typologies of working spaces: individual, collaborative, and team
• Several medium and large meeting rooms (8 persons to 24 persons) with full AV connectivity to provide conference facilities across the University sites
• Several smaller 2-3 persons meeting rooms to support the daily workplace environment
• Ancillary secure storage spaces to support the sensitive work-loads
• Large format tea point and lounge to allow staff to comfortably socialise and work away from their desks

We undertook several design consultations with the end user groups to ascertain their exact requirements and it was through this process that it became apparent that two distinct approaches were required.

The ground floor staff requested a more traditional look and feel to reflect the nature of their work and the visitors and guests they receive from many different companies and Universities. The works coincided with the transition of Professional Services staff moving away from a desk base to a flexible task based working office, where staff are encouraged to move around the office and utilise spaces and furniture that best assists with their tasks.

The first floor users wished to progress a more radical, graphical style of environment with carpets, wall finishes and ceiling treatments promoting a light and fresh appearance. This resulted in the QTIC collaboration space; an area where soft furnishing and easily movable furniture supports more traditional desk based collaborative spaces.

The project was completed on time and on budget.