Law firm Mishcon de Reya has transformed Africa House, WC2, from a multilet standard office into a place where staff and clients are able to work in confidence and collaborate in the open
When law firm Mishcon de Reya selected Africa House at 70 Kingsway, WC2, for its new headquarters, collaboration was at the heart of its decision.
The firm has been present in Holborn since the late 1960s, but over recent years its footprint had become scattered, with staff housed in several offices around the area. It needed to bring its staff back together, so in 2012 the hunt for a new space began.
The firm scoured Midtown and even dipped a toe into the unlawyerly-like King’s Cross, N1, for a 150,000 sq ft requirement. But the perfect single space could not be found. Until Africa House.
At 122,000 sq ft, the office block is still not big enough for Mishcon’s expected growth but it is close enough to its former HQ (which will be retained and refurbished), at Summit House on Red Lion Square, to have synergy. And for the partners at Mishcon, it was important that the firm remained in Midtown. “It is part of our DNA,” says Philip Freedman, chairman of the firm.
For law firms, creating space that is attractive to clients and employees and in keeping with the changing nature of offices, while still preserving confidentiality and the need for privacy, can be difficult. But for Mishcon, being able to provide both open and confidential space was key.
The expertise of architecture and design firm TP Bennett was enlisted to help with the refurbishment and fit-out of the partially listed Africa House, but the majority of the design was taken on by Mishcon partners, particularly the real estate division’s Ian Paul, with input from all staff.
At Africa House, the team had the potential to create the space it wanted. It was keen to give staff the best possible environment and create an area where clients could feel at home.
Walk through the grand entrance off Kingsway and you may think you are going into a traditional, formal office block, with its marble floors, sweeping staircases and portrait of the firm’s founder Lord Mishcon, keeping watch on all who enter. But it also offers a touch of the modern, with a light sculpture designed by Vancouver-based firm Bocci hanging from the high ceiling.
As you are ushered through to the reception area, visitors are transported to an upmarket hotel lobby. Greeters with Bluetooth earpieces ask for your name but don’t give you forms to fill out. You then float through to the main reception area where baristas offer you coffee and pastries.
The wide expanse of the reception lobby has been designed by partners specifically for clients. It is a space where people can get together and chat – privately, in one of the booths, or more openly around the bar.
Mishcon’s goal was to create a reception that did not feel like an office, but instead offered an informal but organised space where clients could turn up to meetings an hour early to work, relax, or even hold meetings of their own.
Move upstairs to the staff areas and Mishcon has sought to keep space as open and collaborative as possible, but retaining the private offices that are vital for confidential legal work.
“We are very proud of the achievement of turning a building from multi-occupancy to single occupancy and for blending the traditional with the modern. We have designed the office floors to create the same sort of environment [as the client lounge]. They are very open but people can also close themselves off in rooms to study, to use their brains. We also have collaborative areas where they can mix and produce the best work,” says Freedman. “We are very keen on the blend of brain work and collaborative work.”
Glass plays a big role in that. A glass lift up the central shaft of the building gives employees views across floors. On one side are individual libraries and workspaces, on the other the private offices. The glass gives colleagues the chance to spot one another, prompting meetings, phone calls…collaborations.
Private offices are also glass and often shared by a pair of lawyers. While maintaining the tradition of legal workspace, the glass has helped Mishcon find the perfect balance between being open and maintaining confidentiality.
“This iconic building has both heritage and now state-of-the-art facilities, but impressively also embodies the link between work, life, brand, values and quality. It is a unique contributor to the contemporary workplace and a leader for others to follow.”
Tass Mavrogordato, chief executive, InMidtown
The theme of creating spaces that work with and for employees and clients continues through Africa House’s meeting rooms, which mix formal and collaborative elements, with rectangular desks and traditional (yet comfortable) seating in some rooms, and oval desks and more armchair-esque seating in others.
And while the ground floor has been designed for clients, to make them feel at home and comfortable, the basement has been designed entirely for employees. There is bicycle parking, a facilities helpdesk where you can get your dry cleaning done, keys cut, and all those other chores that eat into your day.
There’s also a canteen that has been designed, again, with collaboration – and confidentiality – in mind. Pod booths surround a central dining area to provide space for internal meetings over a coffee.
And for Mishcon, the blend of confidence and collaboration is what it is all about.
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samantha.mcclary@estatesgazette.com
