We were successfully appointed as main contractor to deliver a large project across two phases which included the following work:

Komfort Solid & Double Glazed Partitioning; Cherry Veneer Doors; Carpets & Vinyl Flooring; New Kitchens; Lighting Works; Electrical & Data Works; Air Conditioning Works; New Office Furniture.

Codemasters is an award winning games developer and publisher with a 25-year heritage. Their popular game brands include DiRT, GRID, Cricket and Operation Flashpoint. The company also retains the exclusive worldwide video game rights to FORMULA ONE. F1 2010, the first multi-format high-definition FORMULA ONE racing game released September 2010, is the fastest-selling FORMULA ONE game ever. It entered the charts at number one in six countries and secured the BAFTA award for Best Sports Game.

In 2009 Codemasters won the coveted Grand Prix Award at the 2009 Develop Industry Excellence Awards, an award bestowed on the company felt by Develop to have contributed the most to the games medium in recent times.

Codemaster employ over 500 people around the world, working in development and publishing.  They have two development studios in the UK – one at their Warwickshire HQ and a further site in Birmingham.  They also have an additional art studio in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Red Bull Amsterdam has recently made the move from a converted mansion on the outskirts of the city and architects were invited to submit proposals for spacious new offices that would better suit the company’s image.   Montreal-based architects Sid Lee Architecture submitted a design that fitted the bill, resulting in the renovation of a former shipbuilding factory in the Noord district of Amsterdam.  In a previous life Noord was a bustling working dock but is now home to several media companies including MTV.

The building chosen by Sid Lee for Red Bull was never designed to house offices but the architects were able to visualise its potential.  Apart from anything the building is huge and benefits from plenty of natural light thanks to its three parallel glazed roof gables.  The building also proved perfect for creating a layout of cellular offices around the outside of the space whilst leaving the central area free for lots of open-plan work and breakout spaces.

When planning the space the architects used the building’s roof gables to create three defined areas: one to house social areas whilst the others are home to more conventional offices.

Furniture has been very carefully chosen to reflect the building’s interior; the designers have used simple, modern designs to allow the stunning architecture to speak for itself.  However there are some startling touches including a real aeroplane wing sticking out from a wall, designed to be used as a desk!

The Office Interiors event is being marketed as a ‘vibrant, fresh and exciting’ new interiors event, focussed entirely on the the UK’s office interiors industry.  Organised by Diversified Business Communications, Office Interiors promises to showcase office interiors exhibitors alongside a wide range of buyers and specifiers.  The emphasis of Office Interiors is intended to be on ‘medium to high end products, solutions and services.’

The organisers of Office Interiors are hoping to make the event stand out from other interiors shows by concentrating on every aspect of office interiors and office interior design.  Choosing to hold the Office Interiors show in February is sure to be a wise move by the organisers as opting for this time of year means they’ll completely avoid the cluster of design-led events that are held in London every September.

Office Interiors will be the first design show of 2013 and is already eagerly awaited.

It’s not only wallpaper that can be used to great effect on office walls. There are now some really innovative contract wallcoverings on the market made from an incredible variety of materials including felt, wool, fabric, wood, metal and plastic. One of the most unusual we’ve come accross are Rock Stone Mosiac Tiles: stone wall cladding tiles which can be used to create an innovative feature wall, designed to look like the walls of a quarry.

A quick and relatively cheap way to give an office a new look, wallpaper and specialist wall claddings can be a great way to breathe new life into a tired space or used as a fantastic way to help create an integrated, corporate look.  Stylish, innovative wallcoverings have made their mark on the office interiors scene and are proving a great way to create a high-impact look.

Using wallpaper or a textured wallcovering in an office refurbishment is a great way to add a stylish touch but wallcoverings should be used with caution as there’s definitely a fine line between a professional image and a look that comes across as twee or homely. Bold designs should be limited to one feature wall only to avoid overpowering the room; the rest of the room can be papered or painted in a plain, complementary colour.

Remember to think carefully about your corporate image before splashing out on wallcoverings. By all means use wallpaper in colours that match your company logo but try not to go overboard – there’s nothing worse than overkill! On the otherhand it’s important to avoid colours that clash with your company colours. If you want to go for a really bold design it might be best to restrict it to alcove walls or walls behind shelving.

We love the Millionaire Wall luxury wooden wall panels from Wenge. This really is the ultimate office interior wallcovering, providing any room with a feeling of luxury, opulence and sophistication. The wooden panels can be used to cover an entire wall or placed at intervals to create an intriguing pattern.

We think that the Layla range of seating from Boss Design could be just right.  Incredibly sophisticated yet simple in it’s design, Layla has been designed to maximise the use of simple linear forms. Layla has been created by Boss to combine geometric design and superb ergonomic comfort.

Available in a range of size including an armchair, three-seater or spacious four-seater sofa, Layla can also be purchased as modular units, making it the perfect flexible solution for fitting into awkward spaces.  If you look closely you’ll see that Layla has some interesting design touches: striking stitching has been added to the back and base options that include a tubular steel frame or individual polished aluminium legs.  Layla can be enhanced and complemented by Boss Designs’ range of coffee tables.

Definitely a case of less is more, Layla is a great example of simple design used to stunning effect.

Alice Fung, co-founder of the Westminster Hub explained the Hub’s purpose: “We’re like a 21st-century members’ club, a network of places for small businesses to come, grow and flourish.”

The team behind the Hub’s design are from 00:/ design practice, and one of their designers, Joni Steiner said: “The first Hub in London, in Angel, had more of a hippy vibe and the second in King’s Cross was more accessible for businesspeople, with more high quality finishes. This place is faster-paced and experimental, though there are still a lot of the same principles that tie all the Hubs together.”

Joni Steiner continues: “The first Hub in London, in Angel, had more of a hippy vibe and the second in King’s Cross was more accessible for businesspeople, with more high quality finishes. This place is faster-paced and experimental, though there are still a lot of the same principles that tie all the Hubs together.”

Hub Westminster is on the first floor of New Zealand House on Haymarket and overs a total of 1,115sq m.  In a previous life the premises were used as a place where people had to go to appeal against parking fines and was a dark, poky maze of small offices and narrow corridors.  Project architect Lynton Pepper said:  “It had a low ceiling and brown carpet so the project was a lot about taking things away and simplifying the space.”

The design team of Hub Westminster certainly deserve credit for using some really imaginative ideas: tables built at a slight angle to encourage collaboration, relay cords that can be pulled down from the ceiling to provide extra power supplies along with high chairs and desks.

So what about that greenhouse?  Used as a meeting space, the idea of incorporating a greenhouse into the finished design is novel to say the least.  The whole space is now light, airy and user-friendly with lots of writable surfaces, beanbags and things on wheels.  Quite a change from the low ceilings and brown carpets!

Ashish Shakuniya has designed a range of space saving furniture which was recently dispalyed at the National School of Furniture’s graduate show at the Vitra showroom in Clerkenwell, London.  The inspirational show highlighted the very best in new and innovative furniture designed by Ashish and other students on the MA Furniture Design and Technology course at Bucks New University.  The young designers exhibiting at the show have worked alongside well known organisations such as John Lewis, Ercol and the V&A Museum of Childhood, which demonstrates the quality of the work they are producing.

Clerkenwell is, of course, home to some of the UK’s most innovative design and furniture showrooms and it’s great to see a well known manufacturer like Vitra celebrating young furniture designers in this way.  Young design talent needs to be nurtured and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of inspirational ideas furniture designers of the future can come up with…

Maybe it’s got something to do with rises in tuition fees but  todays students seem to to have much higher expectations,  judging by the stunning interior of Coventry University’s Student Hub.  Students now demand far more from the buildings they socialise and study; they’re encouraged to have a more responsible attitude to drinking so student bars are now being designed as attractive places to spend time relaxing, meeting friends and studying.

Coventry University Student Hub has been created with all this in mind. Designed by architecture practice HawkinsBrown, a practice that has experience of designing university buildings all over the UK. The project brief for the hub started began as a traditional student union, comprising bars and study areas. However, the project evolved and the end result is a user-friendly socialising area that is being used and enjoyed by the whole university.

Something that has also had strong influences on the finished design is that many students now choose to live at home in an effort to save money, rather than living on halls of residence on campus. This means that many students now need a place to meet and relax in between lectures when once they would have gone back to their halls for a break.

The Hub’s huge L-shaped building is located right in the centre of Coventry University Campus. The building has a stunning glass facade in contrast to the bombed out shell of Coventry Cathedral which was destroyed during World War II air raids.

The interior of the building includes a wide variety of study and relaxation areas, along with a doctors’ surgery, library, employment agency and, of course, a bar. A huge amount of space – 2,800 sq m to be precise – has been devoted to informal learning. Many students now carry their own laptops and need somewhere to sit and work. The building has a very professional, business-like feel which the designers hope reflects the attitude of many modern students. Polished floors, glass elevations, exposed concrete surfaces and coloured acoustic baffles all contribute to an incredibly stylish finish, more reminiscent of some of  the office fit out refurbishment projects we’ve worked on, rather than a University building.

Furniture has been added in the shape of huge, brightly-coloured modular systems to create the feel of different ‘zones’ within the building. These modules range from cosy house-shaped seating ares with their own gable roofs through to round ‘nests’ with beanbag seating. Each module has it’s own flat screen monitor and power supply for laptops.

Conventry University’s Student Hub certainly shows what it’s possible to create in a modern eduction environment. The design includes some truly inspirational ideas that we’re very keen to try out for ourselves.