DESIGN & INTERIORS A STEP BACK IN TIME A look and style made popular by certain sectors, namely media businesses and tech


start-ups, the ‘defurb’ is a trend that is now spreading throughout the commercial property market. Office Principles explores these blast-from-the-past spaces.


Corporates are increasingly stepping away from every day, standard, commercial buildings and seeking out interesting, heritage interiors when considering fit outs and new space. The office is now widely recognized as a tool for recruitment and retention and so it’s in a company’s interest to source the most creative and engaging space.


Based on the exposure and enhancement of a building’s original features, a ‘defurb’ transforms office space, moving from the regular blue carpets, suspended ceilings, white walled, corporate look and reuniting a building with its original form.


“The office is now widely


recognized as a tool for recruitment and retention and so it’s in a


company’s interest to source the most creative and engaging space.”


This fits with the current aspiration for increased collaboration and a less structured approach to working, while providing a strong sense of identity and appealing to a younger demographic. It also delivers a large chunk of authenticity, by association, which again, is much to be desired in today’s corporate world.


As good office design becomes a badge of honour, companies of all shapes and sizes, and specialists across numerous fields, are coming around to the ‘defurb’ as a signature of style and good taste; the mark of a company that is in touch with its employees, forward thinking and relevant.


Telling the story There are specific locations and spaces that are common to the ‘defurb’. These, most notably, include old mills, warehouses, factories and industrial spaces, with a history and a legacy of hard toil.


High ceilinged, with exposed brick and pipes, these buildings have hosted generations of workers and stand as a reminder of a previous industrial era that has passed the baton to new commerce and professional pursuits.


Certain areas in cities have these types of buildings in abundance – the Northern Quarter in Manchester, the Docks in Liverpool, locations such as Shoreditch in London. There is an energy to these reclaimed areas, provided by the past, that provides a buzz for all who pass through.


The history is the essential element, providing an added attraction for those who work (and live) in the locale.


36 | TOMORROW’S FM


Form and function The appetite for these defurbished projects is also exacerbated by the creative aspect; the potential to restore a tired old building and to breathe new life into it. As well as having character, these buildings are canvases scrubbed clean, that are both functional and cool. They’re the perfect spaces to fire up the imagination, allowing for the possibility of inspirational and great designs.


A building that qualifies for a ‘defurb’ also likely lends itself to on trend tonal and natural shades, along with the use of raw materials like wood, stone, exposed brick and slate.


The overall effect presents a more eco-friendly flavor – plus, buildings like this are often more airy, with bigger windows, allowing more natural light to enter the space.


And the bonus is… Stripped back, pared down buildings, with their exposed surfaces, are, on the whole, much easier and cheaper to exit at the end of a leasing arrangement.


The dilapidation bills are usually noticeably lower as there’s not much to be done to hard finishes, such as exposed brickwork, and there may not be carpet tiles, in the first instance, to replace.


If the location works for the company and the team, no surprises then that these buildings provide such a good fit.


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