London HQ for Cathay Pacific in England by align

Article source: align  

Interior architects and designers align have created a subtle and elegant suite of offices for airline giant Cathay Pacific in their new airy and spacious premises, just east of Hammersmith Bridge. The 4^th floor, 9,295 sq ft space faces the Thames directly, with views over to the famous Harrods Furniture Depository building opposite. The new workspace serves as Cathay Pacific’s UK headquarters and the company has additional, smaller operational offices in the UK at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester Airports.

Private offices on opposite side of corridor for General Manager and other key staff, Image Courtesy © align

• Architects: align
• Project: London HQ for Cathay Pacific
• Location: London, England

Open-plan area, Image Courtesy © align

Cathay Pacific’s previous offices were also in the Hammersmith area, but, after fourteen years of occupancy, they no longer fitted the company’s needs. The old offices had a lack of spatial flow, following classic piecemeal company expansion and the overall ambience was rather dark and heavy, with furniture and fittings that had come to feel old-fashioned. The opportunity to move represented therefore a great opportunity to serve as a catalyst for change in workplace culture, as well as offering the possibility to integrate the company’s brand design values and ethos from the outset.

A single corridor links the two ends of the workspace – the open plan and dining + breakout areas, Image Courtesy © align

Kitchen and dining areas of breakout space, Image Courtesy © align

One of the most important aspects of this culture change was the possibility of promoting a greater sense of togetherness and communality, helping to move the workforce on from separated departments and rather formal meeting rooms to a connected and flowing series of spaces in the new workspace, comprised of open-plan offices, a retained smaller number of private offices for key discretionary areas such as finance and HR, as well as breakout spaces and meeting rooms with varying degrees of formality and informality.

Timber wall feature in corridor area, Image Courtesy © align

London icons start the run of window manifestations_A, Image Courtesy © align

The Cathay Pacific company design ethos is ‘softly spoken, strongly felt’, pointing towards a language of tasteful, warm and considered sensory experiences, delivered with respectful grace and heartfelt hospitality. For align, it was an important part of the design concept stage to refer to the company’s brand values and translate them into 3D form.

Board room table within Westminster, Image Courtesy © align

Knoll storage divider down the centre of the corridor, Image Courtesy © align

‘It was vital to ensure that the colours and fabrics we used, for example, embodied a quiet and dignified ethos via a neutral palette that offered differentiation instead through tonality and materials’, align Director and Co-founder Gurvinder Khurana explained. ‘We also had to ensure a good flow of energy. The new offices involved the advice of a Feng Shui expert, referencing the company’s Far Eastern cultural and business roots.’

Further open plan area beyond, Image Courtesy © align

Final meeting room – Lantau – in far corner of open-plan space, Image Courtesy © align

The four key elements of the brand design ethos that was to be incorporated were:

Contemporary Asian

Beautiful elements from across all Asian cultures, reinterpreted in modern, graceful and elegant new ways, avoiding overt connections to tradition, convention and history.

Reception with timber detailing linking to corridor zone, Image Courtesy © align

Balcony area, Image Courtesy © align

Heartfelt Warmt

Warmth, sincerity, and poise, imbued with a clear sense of respectful Asian caring and hospitality and avoiding sterile, hard, cold and clinical associations, as well as overt luxury or ‘bling’.

Considered Simplicity

Stripping out the unnecessary and embracing understated confidence, serenity and grace, so that things are simple, but not simplistic, austere or stern.

External dining table, Image Courtesy © align

Hammersmith meeting room with special wall finish, Image Courtesy © align

Joy of Discovery

Relishing the thrill of discovery in travel and seeking to create romance by recapturing the little moments that make journeys delightful, as well as capturing the sense of renewal, excitement and adventure inherent to travel.

‘Fittingly for this client, the creation of this design scheme really was a journey’, Gurvinder Khurana commented. ‘We kicked off the project with a lot of workshops and conversations, with the client’s HR team particularly driving the need for change. There were trade-offs along the way, with the reduction in the number of private offices offset by the meeting rooms, whilst we flew the flag for breakout spaces and more informal meeting rooms, all of which, happily, have proved extremely popular.’

Central meeting table looking back down full length of corridor, Image Courtesy © align

Meeting room manifestations link the various offices, Image Courtesy © align

Tags: England, London

Categories: Headquarters, Interiors, office Complex, Office space, Offices

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