Astra Zeneca case study

Claremont was appointed to provide a complete interior design and workplace planning service to the new Parklands facility at Astra Zeneca's UK headquarters in Cheshire, bringing a total of 730 people from two teams together for the first time to encourage interaction and communication. Moving to new open plan ways of working was viewed with apprehension by the users as the previous accommodation was mix of shared and single offices.

Solution

The atrium space was developed to bring the feeling of the parkland setting inside and to encourage collaboration. The multi-purpose space provides a bistro, an exhibition space and a relaxed meeting area. The balcony workspaces are open to the atrium and concerns regarding noise and glare in the office were considered and solutions developed. We designed a variety of work settings and carried out workshop sessions to ensure the strategy was understood.

Result

The open-plan work areas were designed to be flexible, each wing with a central service hub and a combination of bookable private harbours and meeting facilities coupled with an informal breakout space The atrium space is now the most popular venue for lunch on the campus site, used not just by the occupants of the building. The project won the British Council of offices award for the Northern region in 2003.