Workplace
AM Best
An award-winning office for global credit agency AM Best in the City of London
1 Floor
10 Week Programme
8,800 Sq Ft
The Challenge
Create a flexible environment that’s elegant, professional, and an enjoyable employee experience and is optimised in its usage.
The Solution
Enhance flexibility using acoustics, folding walls, glass partitions, and diverse workspace configurations, while ensuring regulatory adherence.
The Result
An award-winning workplace that’s welcoming and forward-thinking while honouring the professionalism and integrity of the business.
The insurance specialist sought to update their space for modern working requirements, so we designed a space that offered flexibility and multifunctionality.
AM Best is a global credit agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Located in a contemporary property on Arthur Street in the City of London, wanted help to refine their strategy when relocating to a higher floor within the building.
Their move was driven by changing office practices, shifting to a hybrid working approach. With fewer people in the office full time, their special needs had reduced but required more flexibility for improved and varied functionality.
Defining a workplace strategy
Initially, we worked with their team to define their strategy for the space for the future of their business. This included an in-depth workplace analysis featuring interviews with 11 managers and visioning sessions.
As a result, we came up with a space budget and translated that into a plan that worked for them.
The design for the AM Best offices struck a thoughtful balance between modern working preferences for their employees and the need to maintain essential practices like privacy and compliance, given the nature of their work.
The structure of the space impacted all these elements, so that was an essential consideration to successfully balance privacy, flexibility and dynamics ensuring it was optimised for all possibilities.
Functionality and flexibility
Alongside open plan areas of the office, compliance requirements necessitated several private offices and phone booths, which were double glazed and treated for acoustics.
For flexibility, front of house meeting rooms included folding walls so the spaces could be adapted based on employee requirements, maximising usage.
Although the style of the office is very much in keeping with the corporate nature of the brand, using softer neutral tones and ribbed cladding features, the team spaces offer unique points of visual interest.
In the reception, a focal point is the bespoke piece of seating joinery. This feature creates a welcoming environment for visitors to wait comfortably, but also allows employees to gather and collaborate spontaneously if required.
Meanwhile, at the tea point, we exposed the ceiling to give it a more relaxed vibe commensurate with time away from the computer screen supporting employee wellbeing and encouraging community among the team.
High functioning style
The project balanced supporting updated employee needs at AM Best providing a variety of working environments for activity-based working, while also preserving the professional needs of the team, the company and their clients. The result is a highly functional, sophisticated space that retains and reflects the brand’s integrity and sets it apart as a dynamic, modern working environment.
Award-winning workspace
The project went on to win Project of the Year at the 2023 Office Management Awards. The award is given in recognition of the office move and fit out, and the work that Senior Manager Laura King, put into finding the right people and relationships to achieve the transformation. It also acknowledges the impact that the working environment has on everyone in it, and the power of getting, not only the end result right, but the journey as well.