- Location:
- Birmingham
- Industry:
- Insurance
- Building:
- Multi-storey office block
- Date:
- Jun 2022
A high-spec Cat B fit-out that turns a blank city-centre shell into a confident, inspiring workspace for a leading West Midlands insurance firm — built around frameless glass partitioning, walnut cross-grain doors and bold coloured window film.
Design-led approach for a leading insurance firm
The 13th storey of a Birmingham office block, with an 8,000 sq ft floor space, sat empty when we started. It’s blessed with full-height windows and panoramic views across the city, which we had to make the most of.
With nothing in the way, our design team had room to build the company’s character into every detail. The palette was kept deliberately simple; the firm’s corporate purple lifted by green accents on a grey flooring base.
Walnut cross-grain was chosen for the doors, giving the space a tactile warmth and premium feel, the grain reading clearly against the cooler frameless glazing alongside. That glazing carries bespoke window film creatively using the firm’s corporate identity. The meeting rooms sit along one side of the floor, so the amazing city views stay open to the main desking area. Even the lighting was carefully considered and zoned to suit how each area would be used.
Materials and products we used
Every material was sustainably sourced and chosen to reflect the client’s brand. A frameless glass partitioning system wraps the kitchen and breakout area, with a Manet-style sliding glass door, a space-saving choice where every metre of floor counts. Flooring ranges from heavy-duty carpet tiles in the working areas, through to parquet in the breakout zone, and bold-coloured window film adds contrast against the glazing.
Designed around the people who use it
With the floor used day-in, day-out by staff, layout came down to how people actually work. The main area is open-plan with hot-deskable workstations, and the meeting rooms sit around the perimeter — fitted with a mix of glass and solid partitions to keep conversations confidential where needed.
