Selfridges Offices in London by Alex Cochrane Architects.

Luxury London department store Selfridges has a new buying and merchandising office designed by Alex Cochrane Architects. With directors opting against a cellular workspace, the interior champions employees adopting a roaming presence with laptops in hand, not claiming ownership to any one of the 125 work points.

The office is set within the Selfridges building in Marylebone spread across 1,830sqm. Maximizing flexibility and a nomadic ethos, staff can choose to work at one of the aforementioned stations, in the kitchen, at one of two café areas, in the library or in one of the meeting booths dispersed around the floor. On warmer days, a new terrace is also an option. Each member of staff receives their personal cupboard within which to store their belongings at the end of each day, only to set up in another location the following day.

Power and data points are placed strategically around the floor, while monumental, brightly coloured hot-desk areas with library-style lighting invite a more communal experience. Alex Cochrane Architects aimed to facilitate a connection between the various buying teams and their associates, encouraging new conversations and shared knowledge of current and future trends that will ultimately filter into the Selfridges shopping experience.

The architects encourage playfulness with injections of bold colour throughout the interior, with primary duct runs painted glossy green or magenta, shelves lined in electric blue laminate and yellow kitchen cupboard doors. Telephone booths are defined by transparent pink glass doors, while meeting booths are easily identified by their electric blue fabric walls. Moreover, the physical mass of the workstations is broken up by altering colours within the pigeonholes of the desks. Loose furniture was selected for their fun forms and positive colours while materials across the board were chosen according to local, re-usable, second hand and green-certified principles.

Social breakout spaces, encouraging of harmless frivolity, are strategically positioned around the office floor, such as a playroom that doubles as both theatre and table tennis arena, a kitchenette crowned by a limited edition Bonzini table football, and the new terrace allowing for gatherings outside of the office environment.

See more Creative Office Spaces on Yellowtrace here.

[Images courtesy of Alex Cochrane Architects. Photography by Ståle Eriksen.]