31 Great George Street consists of 3 floors, 3,600sqm, of open plan office and was planned to accommodate some 360 persons from various University departments. Oxford Architects were appointed by the University to undertake RIBA Stage 0-4 at which point Overbury Plc appointed Oxford Architects to take the project to completion. Overbury completed the project on time to a very high standard and the prestigious open plan offices overlooking Brandon Hill have been well received by everyone involved in the project.

Preliminary end user meetings made it obvious that the layouts for the workstations had to be fixed early on in the 8 week design process to meet the tight programme set by the Client. Each department had the same general requirements; a number of shared meeting rooms and specific conference facilities, AV support, flexible workstations; but also had subtle nuances requiring thought. The layout was kept as flexible and open as possible whilst addressing the particular project needs. The primary spaces being kept open encouraged the tea points to be part of the floor plate rather than hidden behind doors, thereby becoming part of the work place offering locations for informal and spontaneous conversations to occur.

On site, the primary challenge was to modify the landlord’s mechanical and electrical fit-out to achieve the technical requirements of the layouts.

• Short design programme to deliver high density quality office space for several user groups
• High quality finishes
• Modern industrial aesthetic
• Complex Mechanical & Electrical requirements