Hotfoots it to Mayfair - Mayfair Times

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commercial property
What do an innovative corporate building and an opulent restaurant
have in common? With careful and imaginative design, they can both
become stunning spaces to work in.
“Companies are beginning to realise that interiors count,” says Jon
Eaglesham of architect and design consultancy Barr Gazetas, which
designed office-space provider Regus’s building in Berkeley Square.
Firms now look to designers to conceive interiors that transform
working practices and help focus strategic goals. Businesses
acknowledge that interiors are a necessary investment for inspiring
workers, reducing staff turnover and expressing corporate culture in ways
that no written slogan or profile can.
Mayfair’s shops, restaurants, hotels and offices are decked with stateof-the-art
design and furnishings, creating some of the country’s most
coveted commercial properties. In fact, a client recently asked Eaglesham
to give his building “a Mayfair”. Working here is more stylish than ever.
In part that is because work is changing, and interior designers are
keeping up with the challenges this presents. The office is now wherever
there is a reliable internet connection, a comfortable chair and a cup of
coffee. Of course, those are the basics.
Regus offers mobile workers a variety of lighting to suit concentrated
work or relaxation. The building’s façade is constructed from gallery
glass, selected for its clarity, and looks out over Bruton Street with the
Stella McCartney boutique in view.
Each bay is lit with LED lighting that changes throughout the day and
a huge hole has been cut in the heart of the building, featuring a
sculpture by art collective Random International. It’s a new style of
business lounge which evokes boutique hotel, with elements like a timber
wall brought in to create the comfort of a hotel and the industry of a
business centre.
It’s unsurprising, considering the boundaries between interior design
for corporate and hospitality properties are shifting. “The principles
behind hospitality are becoming more appropriate in an office
environment,” says Eaglesham.
But, while hospitality design may influence corporate, trends don’t
necessarily flow in the opposite direction. David Linley, of furniture
company Linley in Albemarle Street, who has designed interiors for
Claridge’s and The Sloane Club restaurant in Chelsea, says: “The more
rarefied the hotel or restaurant, the further it moves away from a
corporate look and feel. Much more emphasis is placed on creating
interiors that are unique, distinctive, and therefore memorable.”
This is what Linley aimed to do with the restaurant at The Sloane Club.
“We had to give the space a contemporary feel without losing the
traditional features of the room, remembering that many members loved
the club for its familiarity and sense of continuity,” he says.
One thing is clear – both corporate and hospitality designers are
embracing new propositions. “Interior design for commercial properties is
LEFT AND BELOW: OFFICES BY REGUS
GIVING YOUR OFFICE
‘A MAYFAIR’ IS NOW
SHORTHAND FOR
INJECTING THE KIND
OF INTERIOR DESIGN
VALUES ONCE ONLY
RESERVED FOR THE
HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY. AND THE
IMPACT IT CAN HAVE
ON YOUR BUSINESS IS
SIGNIFICANT, FINDS
ADELE JARRETT-KERR
Watch this
space
becoming more adventurous every year,” says Linley.
“Colour schemes are getting bolder and brighter and there is a real
desire for statement interiors to make commercial properties unique.”
For Eaglesham, the great accomplishments of the Regus building are
its openness and transparency. He believes these elements allow users to
feel like they are part of the space rather than just sitting in it.
“Years ago, designers were designing offices without thinking about
the end user, which is a disaster,” he says. “It’s one of the reasons why
now we have so many inflexible buildings that have to be reinvented.
“That’s the challenge of modern interior office design – it’s not just
about the person who’s going to occupy it the first five years, but about
how it can be occupied over the next 20 years.”
The Regus building, with its creatively lit business lounge and The
Sloane Club restaurant with its original artwork are representative of the
imaginative directions commercial interiors are taking. Both designs
enshrine comfort and style – the stuff work should be made of.