The British Council for Offices Awards -10/06
Winner: Fit-out of Workplace (large project)
Northern Foods Headquarters, Leeds
You know something has been done properly when people who never visit the office begin queuing at the front door - particularly when it is your own staff. When Northern Foods moved from Hull to Leeds it aimed for more than a permanent home for managers. The building on Thorpe Park would also act as a 'hub' for staff who spend most of their working life travelling the country.
Many had never visited the old HQ but are now lining up to book space for meetings or utilise 'touchdown' areas. Communications with managers and other staff has soared - confirming Northern's belief that it needed to move to new kinds of working.
The initial demand was for predominantly flexible, open-plan space that could be swapped around as demands change. Managers were allowed their cellular privacy but to maintain the sense of openness, partitions are made of glass and can be moved when required - and no doors are fitted!