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banquette seating area is in a dark red. Small splashes of red or terracotta – inspired by Manchester’s Victorian red-brick buildings – form striking inserts of colour.
The final section of the ofice, along the fourth wall of the space, is made up of a series of the aforementioned meeting rooms and phone booths, offering a range of settings, from collaboration, conferencing and training rooms to a wellness space and the silent working environment of the library. Some of the meeting rooms are an off-the-shelf product from Boss Design, which were inset with a joinery surround to ensure their complete integration into the scheme. Additionally, the space plan needed a prayer and first aid room, a returning parent room, and lockers for staff use.
As well as the interior design, SpaceInvader was commissioned to create the project’s wayfinding designs.
and paler timber bespoke joinery shelving, along with a central work/display table and drawer unit. The shelving around the edge of the space houses materials and fabrics, so that the design team can create displays on the central island for client meetings/presentations when required. Spotlights are inset around the perimeter, with two A Tube by Lodes pendant lights directly above the table. Further sliding glass doors connect the studio to the touchdown space beyond, which is also accessible from the welcome area. ‘When it came to space planning, the move allowed for a shift in terms of working culture, with a variety of settings possible thanks to the additional space available,’ says James Lait, SpaceInvader senior interior designer on the project. ‘This included a touchdown area, where team members, so often out on site, can drop into at a moment’s notice to catch up on admin and meetings. We made sure too there were lots of booth areas and nooks where people could take calls, as well as rooms for multiple people to be part of online meetings.’ Four long workstation desks housing 30 staff, which acts as the main working area,
follows on from the touchdown space. The two stand-out features in this area are the metallic- finish curved bases to the joinery – also from the Homapal by Formica collection – that wraps round the end of each workstation, and the bespoke overhead lighting and acoustic panel fittings. Integrating the metallic element was inspired by the pearlescent interior of a nautilus shell, while the bespoke acoustic ceiling fittings were developed through a collaborative process of mock-ups and prototyping with Autex Acoustics to ensure both functional and aesthetic targets were hit. The collaboration resulted in a series of a soft teardrop shapes at the end of each individual bafle, mounted onto a raft with a single-rod lighting spine down each centre. Beyond this main ofice space is a kitchen, followed by a social hub area, including a ‘Town Hall’ space with high-bar seating, a curved banquette/sofa and round café-style tables. Curved counter tops and rounded cabinetry create a soft and inviting look. Overhead, a slightly smaller iteration of the nautilus ceiling feature re-occurs. The kitchen is in a striking dark timber, playing on the idea of contrast, while a
‘Overbury asked for the wayfinding and signage to be integrated sparingly and only used where necessary, so as not to feel too corporate,’ says branding and graphics associate Jenny Crossland. ‘Applications needed to be organic, to fit with the interior concept and not to date easily.’
SpaceInvader suggested the best signage locations for navigational and naming clarity. The results feature curved corners, asymmetric shapes, and textured or ingrained impressions taken from nature. Room names, set at a slight angle, refer to Manchester icons – Printworks for the print room, for example, or Northern Quarter for the design studio. Crossland also devised a linear manifestation for the meeting room glazing and glass doors, based on fluid, organic waves, which are both light and delicate in form.
‘With the ofices set to embody Overbury’s quality commitment and values, we knew that everyone who walked through the door needed to understand instantly what Overbury was all about,’ says SpaceInvader founder John Williams. ‘Far from being a pressure, this meant the project was a real joy, because we were working not only with a client but with a wider team for whom everything was possible – and with everyone very much on their game.’
PHOTOS: NICHOLAS WORLEY
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