The workplace planning was driven by a shift to agile working from largely traditional ofice arrangements. On each of the floors up to level eight, staff enter into a communal arrival, break-out area with refreshments, configured differently on each floor. These communal spaces are more hospitality-led in feel than the adjoining ofice areas, where a combination of hot desks and collaborative break-out spaces replaces traditional ofice seating arrangements. The pandemic lead to a further increase in the amount of non-desk spaces as it became clear that working patterns were changing for good. A mix of furniture types and styles adds to the variety. Spatially, the biggest ‘wow’ factor comes in the two floors of communal facilities at the top of the building. Here, visitors arrive at the level nine campus hub, where there are conference and other client-facing facilities as well as a canteen. This double-height space is


overlooked by a mezzanine housing training, conference and innovation rooms, with arched windows creating a distinctive backdrop. This is topped by a roof pavilion and terrace. While it was important that the workplaces ‘had creativity embedded in them’, according to chief creative oficer Colin Macgadie, there has never been any wish to roll out a single WPP corporate look. Instead, the BDG design team worked with a variety of Detroit leaders and change champions to identify what they felt was key to Detroit, whether the industrial heritage including the car industry, its Art Deco architecture, or its entertainment and cultural heritage, including the Motown music scene and more latterly art and baseball. All these elements were to inform the design response. ‘Authentic is the best way of describing how I wanted it to feel,’ says Macgadie, who was keen that the staff themselves and their activities would animate the building – there


ALL IMAGES: JUSTIN MACONOCHIE RIGHT: PHIL HUTCHINSON


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148  |  Page 149