Goodbye Monday blues

Welcome to Marsh & McLennan’s cool blue office, a refreshing agile workspace full of inspiration.

Project partners

  • Rider Levett Bucknall

Project description

Marsh & McLennan had an idea of what it wanted to provide for its employees, but our team made it a reality. We took proposed space plans and, after understanding Marsh & McLennan’s requirements, the building’s infrastructure and the needs of staff, we created a fresh new concept.

We focused on maximising space utilisation to help Marsh & McLennan get more bang for its buck and highlighted existing building features to create a distinctive workspace. The result: an 8,000 sq ft small but dynamic fit out for a growing business.

Heart of the office

The focal point of the fit out is undoubtedly the welcoming breakout area, which provides a hub of employee amenities for work and play. Taking inspiration from Worcester’s heritage of blue pastoral scenes, the scheme’s colour palette and natural tones create a layered look that’s fresh and serene.

The boundaries between the kitchen and adjacent meetings spaces are fluid. The idea is that employees can mix-and-match formal and informal settings, choosing the most comfortable space for the task at hand. We built spaces of varying sizes completed with different furniture types to offer a selection of activity-based areas. Not only does this approach promote collaboration; it also encourages movement throughout the day, which aids productivity, creativity and wellbeing.

Best of both

The open plan office accommodation itself is more traditional, providing desks for 120 employees alongside printing, recycling and storage facilities. Staff can work in the breakout spaces, of course, but if they choose to focus on individual work without distractions - we’ve provided room for that too. We also built a central spine of quiet settings and small, private meeting rooms to support one-to-one catch-ups.

Fit for work

An agile environment is only as successful as its acoustic finishes. We wanted to ensure that the final space would motivate healthy and productive working practices. In quiet areas confidentiality is important, whilst collaborative spaces must absorb excess sound. We also upgraded the double glazing and drop seals on all the doors to ensure unwanted noise doesn't travel too far.

Other measures to make this agile office successful includes lockers for when employees are on the move and height-adjustable desks to combat overly-sedentary work.

Hello inspiration

Marsh & McLennan’s new office is an inspirational workspace with a variety of work settings and an all-important breakout space with zones to support healthy 9-to-5 practices. Bye, bye Monday blues.

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