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HLW designs wellness workplace for global tech HQ
Orangebox launches new London showroom
International architecture and design firm HLW has completed the interior design and fit-out of a relocated headquarters for global technology company Wise, in Shoreditch, London.
Inspired by its Estonian roots, the firm’s new ofices balance a focus on wellness with agile workspaces that create environments for teams to grow, thrive and collaborate. The five-storey, 83,000ft2 workplace at Worship Square is a 40% footprint expansion on Wise’s previous HQ in the Tea Building, also in Shoreditch, and is now the home to a team of more than 1,000 employees.
Focused on providing employees with well-being and innovation spaces, the design features a sauna – a nod to Wise’s Estonian roots – nap pods, massage chairs and a fitness studio.
Arrival at the ofice is designed to create an impactful first impression, from team gatherings in its event space and kitchen, to bonding and
recharging in restorative spaces such as the games area.
Workspaces at Wise are flexible and adaptable in configuration, with ‘neighbourhoods’ along windowed façades, which provide agile workspaces. Booths and breakout rooms enable private work and focus, while the HQ also features bespoke device and research labs, for product development and user testing, respectively.
Open, naturally lit communal meeting spaces, as well as a terrace and café, fitted with comfortable textiles and soft furnishings, encourage conversation and collaboration. A statement staircase – in Wise green – is a focal feature. Throughout, bold colours, texture-rich materials, and graphic artwork pay homage to artists originating from Shoreditch. The design of the ofice complies with the UKGBC Net Zero Carbon Framework through a Whole Lifecycle Carbon Assessment, Embodied Carbon Assessment,
NABERS, Operational Energy and Design for Performance. Low- carbon material choices – including a shift from steel to GRG – reduce embodied carbon by 11t. Pendrick Brown, managing director, London, at HLW, said: ‘The new Wise HQ balances the restorative with the collaborative, designed for the needs of a dynamic team, with agility and adaptability in-built from the ground- up. A variety of bespoke spaces – flexible set-ups, ‘neighbourhoods’, and labs – ensure that each employee has the tools they need and a place that works for them. Honouring Wise’s Estonian roots while celebrating Shoreditch as an epicentre for design and craft, choices in texture, colour, and graphics are bold and playful. ‘From nap pods to massage chairs, Wise’s team – at one of the world’s fastest-growing, profitable tech companies – is proof that ofice saunas are far more than just hot air.’
hlw.design
the showroom’s installation by around 10t.
Orangebox.com
Vitra unveils new showroom in New York
Furniture company Vitra has opened a new showroom at 46 Bowery in Manhattan’s Chinatown. The showroom occupies a 582m² loft on the third floor, overlooks the Manhattan Bridge, and is designed as a multifunctional space for showcasing collections from Vitra and its subsidiary Artek. The layout is open, with a concrete floor and exposed ceiling infrastructure, allowing for flexible partitioning to accommodate events and exhibitions. A bar counter made of light-coloured terrazzo serves as a gathering place. The showroom is intended to serve as a hub for New York’s design community, providing a venue for exploration of colour, material and products.
vitra.com
Welsh furniture manufacturer Orangebox has relocated its London showroom to 250 City Road. The internal design team collaborated with Carter Owers Studio to create a showroom that reflects the brand’s focus on people-centric workplaces. The layout allows clients and designers to interact with the furniture, testing combinations and co-creating environments. The showroom is part of Tiller & Lock, a mixed-use development designed by Foster & Partners. More than half of the products in the showroom are reconditioned items from Orangebox’s existing range, refurbished through the ReMade programme. This approach is estimated to reduce CO2
e emissions from
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Finnish brands collaborate on new furniture collection
Finnish design company Artek is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2025. To mark this milestone, the brand is launching a limited- edition furniture collection with Finnish design house Marimekko. The Artek + Marimekko collection features a selection of Aalto furniture that merges Marimekko’s art of printmaking with Artek’s technology of wood bending.
The collection explores how bold recurring patterns, designed by Maiia Isola for Marimekko’s architectural Arkkitehti series, are interpreted on Alvar Aalto’s birchwood furniture designs. ‘Thematically, it celebrates what unites two iconic Finnish brands: bold and distinct identities that are shaped by architecture, nature, and human-centric pragmatism,’ Artek said in a statement.
This marks the first time that Artek and Marimekko have collaborated on a limited-edition collection. The Artek + Marimekko collection launches worldwide from 4 September 2025 and forms part of Artek’s 90th anniversary celebrations, during which the company is collaborating with like- minded creative partners to present a series of special edition collections.
artek.fi/en
TP Bennett acquires Dubai- based consultancy Bluehaus TP Bennett, the UK-based architecture and design firm, has acquired Bluehaus, an architectural, design and engineering consultancy services, based in Dubai, UAE, with ofices across the Middle East. The acquisition will enhance TP Bennett’s international reach and bring on-board Bluehaus’s experience of design and delivery in the Middle Eastern region, and clients of both firms can expect a broader range of services and expertise. It will also deliver value across both markets by ‘responding to rising demand for design that integrates advanced sustainability and smart technologies’.
tpbennett.com
PHOTO: ARTEK
PHOTO: HUFTON + CROW
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