Baker McKenzie
Address:
London, United Kingdom
Industry:
Legal Services
Year:
2023
Architect:
HASSELL Architects
Planning:
Bene GmbH, Collaborate Furniture
Address:
London, United Kingdom
Industry:
Legal Services
Year:
2023
Architect:
HASSELL Architects
Planning:
Bene GmbH, Collaborate Furniture
Routed in the DNA of law firm Baker McKenzie is a strong sense of community, and a desire to help their staff to be their best work-selves. This was demonstrated in a series of mid-pandemic zoom calls, open to all levels of staff, to establish what kind of office space they would want to work in, and what values their workplace should convey post lockdown.
As a result of this collaborative approach, the firm made a radical break from their own traditional working practices, not to mention those of the sector as a whole. Baker McKenzie’s new workspace has no cellular “partner” offices, and in fact all desk space in the office is unassigned, regardless of seniority, eliminating hierarchy and encouraging more open collaboration and communication across all departments.
Towards a new work culture
In collaboration with Baker McKenzie, Hassell Architects and Collaborate Furniture, Bene designed a specialised desking solution exclusively for their new office scheme. The electronically height adjustable “cantilevered” desks all feature a single column leg, to present a minimalist, almost floating, appearance that belies their mechanical nature. The desks are grouped into different cluster sizes and arrangements to create a diverse yet uniform look, that offer a visual cue to the type of work that might be performed there.
All stations are paired with Kloeber Connex2 task chairs, for universal intuitive controlling and adaptive ergonomic comfort, and feature a smart GoBright desk plate, that is activated by the users’ personal mobile device to book and operate the desk, and also provides live desk availability updates to the rest of the team.
Removal of clutter to create more space, was also very high on the agenda. Staff can personalise their desks, providing the position is returned to its original clear appearance at the end of the day, with all personal items safely stored away in provided lockers. This is another pointer of the equal standing all staff members benefit from.
In shared bathroom spaces, individual cubicles are designated as either male, female, or ungendered. This open and inclusive system creates a sense of belonging and offers greater parity even in the bathrooms.
Photos: ©Office Curator
