Image Credit : Ste Murray
Project Overview
Following a period of unprecedented growth, Just Eat Takeaway (one of our strategic, global clients) partnered with Unispace once more in the Irish capital to create a workspace that would accommodate their growing teams and support flourishing operations both now and well into the future. Totalling 2,500 square metres across the fifth and sixth floors of a stunning new build in the south-east of the city, the space is housed at 35 Shelbourne Road.
Inclusivity, brand identity, flexibility and community are the measures against which success would be measured and as such, these ingredients were high on the list of JET’s order to Unispace. The appetite was for a highly human-centric space in which all team members, from c-suite to delivery rider, would feel welcome and catered for with a “seat at the table”. To reinforce the desired sense of community, integration of JET branding would be a key ingredient rather than a decorative topping as part of a holistic effort to create a strong sense of belonging within the space and demonstrate an established identity.
From a functionality perspective, the space completed space would welcome JET colleagues from across various teams and include a call centre. Space offering infinite flexibility, catering to all preferences and needs, as well as ensuring that future growth and adaptation of not only the team, but operations as well. This would be a space that satisfies the needs of now, while keeping one eye firmly on the future.
Project Commissioner
Project Creator
Team
Lesley Kelly (Unispace Ireland’s studio representative) is a qualified and celebrated architect having worked internationally, producing designs on behalf of a wealth of clients.
Ola Klaus has worked as a designer for 14 years and has crafted design solutions for clients including Boston Scientific, RTÉ, Volvo and DLA Piper for projects based across the island of Ireland.
Ken Kennedy is a construction professional, offering over 30 years’ industry experience. Ken facilitated an efficient, meticulously constructed workplace.
Project Brief
Fast, bold, bright, dynamic, inclusive and community-focused were all deliverables put on the table by JET for Unispace’s design teams to interpret and play with. The creation of workspace solution in Dublin would be driven with very key purposes in mind. The space would need to function as a call centre and office space, it would need to showcase the brand and simultaneously support the onward development of the business growth out of which the need for this space arose in the first place.
Fuelled by success, ambition and core business values of human-centricity, boldness, knowledge and joy, the brief asked for a space that emanates an atmosphere of fun, without coming across as “funny”. The solution certainly shouldn’t be half-baked, but nor did they want anything to be over-done. Collaboration, innovation, inspiration, contemporary and fun would all be thrown into the mix to strike a balanced, but bold outcome.
With a workforce as diverse as the menu offered to its customers, of paramount importance was ensuring that everybody within the business recognised a place setting at the JET table had been laid out especially for them. Regardless of the role or part played in the business, nobody should feel as if they have been left behind or excluded from the space, the brand and business or the ongoing journey of success in which all team members share.
Project Need
The need for this project was born from success and the space has been designed to ensure that the company is set-up to meet the business needs of the day while also accommodating future growth and development. Flexible not only in terms of the diversity of workspace typologies at the disposal of team members, but agile enough to adjust to ever evolving market needs.
A showcase space for the brand, the interior is bright, bold and unmistakably on-brand. Vibrant oranges are juxtaposed against more neutral greys to create a space that pops with fun that is both serious and playful at the same time. Considerable thought has been put into the layout of the interior, which consists of zoned “me” (focus) “we” (collaborative) and social spaces. Varying shades of carpet help to add to the sense of zoning and the creation of workspace villages that are linked one to the other by a carpeted path of dark grey. Wayfinding within the space, as a result, mimics the delivery process of riders journeying from one location to the next, each different in character and serving a different function.
A homification of the space (i.e. making the workspace feel like an extension of the home through the introduction of informal furnishings, added comfort and customisable spaces reinforces a relaxed approach with the added benefit of psychologically empowering team members to feel better and by extension, perform better.
Design Challenge
Design success would be gauged by measuring the ability of the completed space to support call centre business activities, showcase the brand and create a strong sense of belonging across all teams working within the space.
To this end, the call centre has been located on the fifth floor, away from the reception, welcome and predominantly social areas of the sixth floor. Inclusion of acoustic panels, in addition to the separation of spaces, ensures that both business functions for which the space is intended can be performed optimally, without one detrimentally impacting upon the other.
The decision to create the more social spaces (inclusive of the reception) on the sixth floor, was also an intentional decision. Firstly, entering into the JET workspace on the sixth floor creates the impression of entering into a brightly lit penthouse that benefits from views of Dublin city centre and the hills beyond. The glazing has been modified through the addition of external colour filters in orange and green, which firstly enhance the sense of spatial belonging of the space to the landscape of the Irish capital (both colours appear on the Republic’s tricolor), while also enhancing the power of brand identity within the space.
One further reason as to why it was decided to enter via the sixth, as opposed to the fifth, floor is due to the presence of an external wrap around terrace that can be used by team members for informal socialising, as well as for entertaining visiting clients.
Sustainability
Unispace always strives to create spaces that are not only constructed in a manner that is environmentally friendly, but which function efficiently from an energy perspective. It is important also, that the completed space should be one to which the occupants will want to return time and time again and in which they are empowered to not only perform business activities to the best of their abilities, but a space in which they can be the very best version of themselves. The sustainability credentials of this space are therefore three-fold: sustainable in construction, in function and in empowerment.
Local suppliers were purposely engaged not only to reduce costs and support the local economy, but to contribute to a reduction in the build’s overall carbon footprint. Favouring suppliers with a minimal environmental impact, we opted for recycled materials wherever possible to support this effort. By tapping into a domestic source of materials, we were able to minimise miles travelled, as well as waste, avoid unnecessary pollution, saved energy and conserved natural resources.
Our teams ensured that all HVAC, lighting and water use was optimised for sustainability. The lighting installed throughout the space was upgraded to LED and equipped with motion sensors to automatically turn off when the room was unoccupied. Recycling stations can be found in every space to promote waste distribution at the source.
Interior Design - International Commercial
Open to all international projects this award celebrates innovative and creative building interiors, with consideration given to space creation and planning, furnishings, finishes, aesthetic presentation and functionality. Consideration also given to space allocation, traffic flow, building services, lighting, fixtures, flooring, colours, furnishings and surface finishes.
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