40% reuse at RPS' new Birmingham home!

ANEW assisted RPS with their furniture requirements as they relocated from spirited Digbeth, to the cosmopolitan Colmore district. With a wealth of construction professionals as neighbours, it certainly is the perfect location.

This project is testament to the benefits of early engagement. We started back in April with furniture showroom tours, presenting options for collaborative softer furnishings to the employees for feedback. By far the most significant furniture investment is the task seating, so naturally we organised a trial over two weeks and the Do chair from Orangebox was the clear winner.

The staff were delighted to have the chance to be involved in the decision making. We believe it is important they feel engaged and a part of the process, it can really help ease any resistance to change.

RPS had been monitoring their desk and meeting room usage for the past two years so were able to anticipate how many workstations were actually needed. They decided to halve the amount of desks, freeing up up precious space for touchdown and breakout zones. This is a bold move for any business, but the improvement in collaboration since the relocation has already been noticed across the company disciplines.

By assessing what furniture was available to us from redundant offices, we were able to allocate around 40% of the final furniture selection as existing stock. Not only is this good for the planet, but by making savings this way, we were able to invest in crucial meeting booths and quiet areas for video calls.

We are just waiting for the plants to arrive (real, of course), which will undoubtedly add to an even more welcoming space!

'Kerry was involved right from the start when discussing the fit out of our new office. We had an initial conversation on price points and then she organised for me to go and visit furniture showrooms, where we looked at various solutions. She then put together some options for us within our price range for us to review and make decisions on, this was really useful as it helped us prioritise where we wanted to spend the money. The best thing for me, was when it came to choose the fabrics, I am no interior designer and so I was able to tell her what I liked and she was there to reassure me in my decisions. I would recommend Kerry at Anew as she was there every step of the way for us, she was there on install day and she is still at the end of the phone now despite our fit out being done a month ago. Any issues with install she sorted, her dedication shone through when despite being on leave, when an item arrived with the wrong legs, she jumped on it and sorted it. Kerry was instrumental is us completing on time and getting our staff in on the day we promised, not to mention the fact that we have a fantastic new office that looks amazing and fits all of our aspirations – an office we are proud to call ours.' - Emma Alford, RPS

Even the mayor of Birmingham dropped by for an official open!

A big thank you to our suppliers #Senator, #Ocee, #Workstories, #BossDesign, #Orangebox, #Ensemble and #HAY.

#interior #furniture #reuse #office #design