McDonalds Restaurants: Head Office, London

Location: McDonalds Head Office, London

Sector: Retail/ Consumer Goods

Project Size: 99,776 sq ft reduced to 80,408 sq ft

Project Value: £2.09m

Programme: Phased over 18 months

Scope of Works: Consultancy > Design > Contracting > Furniture

The Brief

Claremont was appointed by McDonalds to analyse the way in which their Head Office building in London was being utilised. Spread over 4 floors with nearly 100,000 sq ft of accommodation, it became apparent that certain areas of the building were being poorly used and that the management were located away from their teams. The brief from the client was to create a fun and company-orientated environment that members of staff and visitors would enjoy. The space was to be an open plan team environment that was productive, inspiring and would encourage communication and interaction.

The Solution

Once the redundant space was identified, a feasibility study was carried out to free up the old wing of the building for sub-let. Claremont re-planned the remaining areas, considering departmental adjacencies and bringing the management closer to their teams.

Claremont elected to create an environment that was based on a neutral palette with strong splashes of colour linking directly to the brand values that McDonalds wished to display. The octagonal shape of the building meant that every external corner was wasted space due to the column position and the awkward shape that remained. One of the key factors of the scheme was to create small team meeting rooms with strong graphic identity based on the images of sport and team play coupled with natural features such as the landscape and images of water. The extensive storage requirement was accommodated in a large bank of efficient rolling storage installed with a relaxing view of a beachscape to break up the storage mass. Strong branding messages including the internal launch of the ‘I’m loving it’ campaign were used to inspire confidence and the commitment of staff.

A phased refurbishment was implemented whilst the client was in occupation

The Result

The sub-let of the old wing allowed the client to fund the refurbishment process of the whole building. Claremont then refurbished this wing for use by the tenant. The accommodation occupied by McDonalds was reduced by 19.5% and provided a significant saving in running costs.

The office space has been rejuvenated and given a fresh colour scheme which is uplifting, the feedback from the staff is that it has had a huge impact on their productivity and has brought a new sense of teamwork and motivation.

Related downloads

'That's McTasty' (PDF, 1.7MB)