space-pod: space issue nine

space issue nine

for business owners, financial directors & facility professionals

inside this issue of space: l Laine Theatre Arts

l Down-sizing

How space-pod helped create acoustic studio theatre and workshop performance spaces at the renowned performing arts college.

In this increasingly challenging economy, we explore what to do when you are losing people or need to reduce space.

l pod life

l Euro2012 win in Poland

We take a closer look at some of the brilliant ways that we can quickly extend and divide open office and public meeting spaces to create closed or partially closed rooms, using our versatile pod systems.

As the England football team crashed out of the Euro2012 quarter final, Space-pod was putting the finishing touches to a complete redesign and build of a call-centre facility in Poland for Premier Farnell plc.

welcome to space edition 9 We’ve had another busy few months and are excited to show you some of the exciting and diverse projects that we have been working on.

From a detailed acoustic design and build project to some lovely installations of our popular pods and space-saving office solutions. Plus we even found ourselves working in Poland during Euro2012, but with rather better results than the England football team!

● Quality interior design ● Effective workplace space planning ● Seamless out-of-hours office transformation ... and all delivered on time and on budget!

Space-pod helps you to reduce your operating costs by designing and building working environments which allow you to fit more people into less space, whilst also improving the look and productivity of your working environment.

space

www.laine-theatre-arts.co.uk

essential reading for business owners, financial directors & facility professionals

office refurbishment | commercial fit-out | acoustic environments | churn & relocation | office furniture | office pods | cad bureau | maintenance

Well, when we finish a job we like to test everything!

As you can see, we really enjoyed putting the finishing touches to the new dance studios at Laine Theatre Arts in Epsom, Surrey.

Laine Theatre Arts provides exceptional training for anyone who wants a long career in professional musical theatre. Founded in 1974 in Epsom, Laine is renowned as one of the best international training colleges for performing arts.

Laine combines its considerable theatre heritage with up-to-the-minute performance techniques and training. Students learn their skills through both practice and performance, with a strong emphasis on discipline and learning how to meet with confidence any occasion encountered.

The new modern studio theatre and workshop performance spaces that space-pod has created within the College complex allows for inhouse productions in a wide range of styles - musical theatre, opera, plays, classical ballet and contemporary dance throughout the college year.

space-pod: creating productive workspaces

tel: 08704 321515

scope of the work carried out l Convert existing redundant office space into dance school. l Obtain planning approval for change of use on clients behalf. l Build acoustic environment with soundproofing and floating floors for use as dance studios. l Utilise soundproof glazing panels to ‘connect’ environment so students can see what is going on in the studios. l Provide audio solutions to allow for iPod connectivity to all studios for dance practice. l Construct internal offices, staff area and break out space to support the school in use. l Modify existing toilets and incorporate changing areas for students.

www.space-pod.co.uk

pod life

Office pod systems allow you to quickly extend and complement most well designed office layouts by providing the opportunity to divide open spaces and create closed or partially closed rooms.

space

essential reading for business owners, financial directors & facility professionals

office refurbishment | commercial fit-out | acoustic environments | churn & relocation | office furniture | office pods | cad bureau | maintenance

In an ever-changing office environment, how can you maximise efficiency, flexibility, collaboration and productivity?

Wireless technology has redefined the workplace, giving people the freedom to move outside the traditional desk-based setting to multiple locations throughout the office. Businesses are also operating in an ever more competitive financial climate, under continual pressure to make more efficient use of their expensive workspaces.

Our range of freestanding, de-mountable office pods, screens, partition and furniture systems extend and complement most office landscapes by providing the opportunity to divide open spaces and create closed or partially closed rooms. In addition it is simple to create re-configurable spaces for collaboration, touchdown and hot desking facilities.

Available in circular or square designs and in a variety of sizes and configurations, these flexible office systems allow us to create open plan spaces and deliver the same level of scope offered by the combination of more traditional fixed cellular space and open plan areas.

Work in peace Creating a contemporary, open-plan working space is increasingly popular and encourages better communication, but it has its challenges. Noise distraction and lack of privacy are a frequent frustration and can reduce efficiency.

But why build walls?

Fixed partitions can soon become obsolete; our curved and straight screening partitions allow workspaces to flex and expand to suit your space, your people and your projects. And when it’s time for new or bigger spaces, our products simply evolve with you.

Conceal what you want In open-plan workspaces, everything is exposed. Pods and mobile office partition screens create distinct workspaces or specific areas for projects and presentations. Our office pod systems allow you to quickly extend and complement most well designed office layouts by providing the opportunity to divide open spaces and create closed or partially closed rooms.

Be more adaptable When, where and how will your organisation grow?

With change happening so rapidly, three years from now can be considered a long time and difficult to plan for. Nobody knows the future, but our pods and partitions allow you to build a more agile business, helping you adapt your environment at little or no cost. Whether it’s an increase in staff, a change of teams or other demands on space, our screens and office partitions can be moved and linked within minutes. Once in place, flexibility becomes permanent.

Find out more about our pods at www.space-pod.co.uk/pods

space-pod: creating productive workspaces

tel: 08704 321515

www.space-pod.co.uk

What to do when you are losing people or need to reduce space In this increasingly challenging economy, it is not only the public sector that is seeing the economical downturn impacting on their employment and services. Many large corporate companies are preparing for, and are already undergoing, extensive office downsizing programmes which will see a reduction in both office space and staff numbers.

Property can be one of the biggest liabilities on the balance sheet – albeit not every organisation will own their own property; most will lease the property over a long term and commit expense on the P&L - and while it is clearly a business asset which does give support and value to the organisation, in the current economic climate, some property can equally be seen as an increasingly underutilised, inefficient liability that is a drain on the changing organisational needs and effectiveness of

space

the business. Almost without exception, organisations are following similar routes in driving their office plans even harder to meet growing demands for greater savings and to make up for the diminishing receipts.

As staff levels decrease, empty office space increases.

Downsizing initiatives not only centre on the need to dispose of existing surplus and poor performing properties, but they must also embrace the need to accommodate fewer people in more effective ways.

Whilst the current property market may not be conducive to major disposal of infrastructure, there are opportunities which can be found if organisations reevaluate and re-focus on creating new and innovative space saving initiatives.

At space-pod we can help to assess not only how to deal with surplus office space – one option would be to re-define and re-fit to make it suitable to sublet – we can also help assess the remaining space to allow the workforce to perform more effectively. New working practices integrate advanced technology with ‘thinking outside the box’ design, incorporating hot-desking, pods and break out zones to encourage collaborative working, positive interaction and increased levels of motivation.

This is at the core of what spacepod does and we have already helped many SMEs and larger organisations to downsize and maximise reduced working spaces, whilst also achieving some notable productivity and working environment improvements.

To find out how, go to www.space-pod.co.uk or call us on 08704 321 515.

essential reading for business owners, financial directors & facility professionals

office refurbishment | commercial fit-out | acoustic environments | churn & relocation | office furniture | office pods | cad bureau | maintenance

Winning in Poland during Euro2012...

At the very moment that the England football team was crashing out of the Euro2012 quarter final, space-pod was putting the finishing touches to a complete redesign and build of a call-centre facility in Poland for Premier Farnell plc.

Premier Farnell is a leading multi-channel, high service distributor supporting millions of engineers and purchasing professionals globally.

Having worked previously for Premier Farnell refurbishing their London office, space-pod were asked to design a scheme for Premier Farnell’s new call centre in Poland. This call centre will become the primary outbound contact centre for Europe, consolidating into one new larger central facility, largely employing new multi-lingual staff recruited locally.

The brief to space-pod centred on a basic requirement to house a fixed structure, i.e. head count, training, meeting rooms, breakout spaces, etc. The USPs for the scheme were all about fun, a great place to work, attracting

and retaining good staff, energy and performance via motivation and well being.

This great brief led us to develop this scheme, which utilises freeflowing curves, pods for meetings and full wall graphics to brand the environment. The scheme has been well received and it seems to be achieving its objectives.

To find out how we can help your organisation with a similar project - give us a call on 08704 321 515.

Below are a few pictures of the scheme of works that we completed:

http://uk.farnell.com/Premier_Farnell

space-pod: creating productive workspaces

tel: 08704 321515

www.space-pod.co.uk

space-pod news...

Get your FREE ebook on our website: The 7 Rules of creating special commercial space for your head office We’ve produced a new ebook titled: The 7 Rules of Creating Special Commercial Space for your Head Office ... or how to put ‘roundy’ humans into ‘squarey’ boxes.

The ebook has been written to help those thinking about relocation or refurbishment of a Head Office, or where an injection of flair and style is required.

Every project is ultimately judged on whether it stands out and delivers on every level.

This FREE, 12-page ebook is a simple to understand guide, which highlights the 7 Rules to follow to ensure that all salient issues are considered and that you don’t end up with an expensive square box full of desks!

get in touch We would love to hear from you if you’d like to discuss a project that we could help you deliver: Space-pod Riverside 85-87 Holtspur Lane Wooburn Green High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP10 0AU t 08704 321 515 e studio@space-pod.co.uk

We have broken ground on the site of our new purpose-built head office and showroom in Bourne End.

With plans signed off and everyone excited about getting moved in to our new office, the next few months will no doubt feel very long and drawnout as we progress the build in between a busy schedule of Customer projects, which rightly always come first.

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The information contained in this publication is supplied by space-pod as a complimentary reporting service to its customers and will not form part of any contract for the purchase of any product described in this document. Although space-pod makes every effort to verify the accuracy of the information contained within, space-pod accepts no responsibility for any defect or error in the publication, or on the information supplied; nor shall space-pod be liable for any loss or damage caused as a result of reliance upon such information. All products and services are supplied by space-pod under space-pod’s published Terms and Conditions of sale and with the benefit only of such warranties, if any, as the manufacturer of such product itself provides to space-pod. All brands and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.