Workplace design and furniture solutions for Main Contractors

Workplace Design and Furniture Solutions

for Main Contractors

W: www.claremontgi.com

[ Caunce O’Hara, Manchester ]


Established in 1977, Claremont Group Interiors is recognised as one of the foremost exponents of

workplace design in the UK.

With 35 years’ experience creating and supporting the workplace, our understanding of the

relationship between people and space has allowed us to design and deliver interiors which work.

Our independent consultancy offering is well established and sees our 20-strong team of multi-

disciplinary experts work with consultants and contractors across the UK to create office and

educational environments that motivate and inspire their occupants

We combine expertise across disciplines. We bring together innovative workplace thinking and

space planning, to make sure we are meeting the end users needs as well as bringing specialist

expertise in integrating technology in a seamless and user friendly way.

Our extensive experience working with a wide variety of furniture manufacturers also means we

can extend the scheme design to provide detailed specification and installation of furniture, fixtures

and equipment. The procurement, installation and management of this F F & E package is often

time-consuming and requires close co-ordination with your project management team.

Introduction

[ Spirax Sarco, Cheltenham ]


1. Brief and Design Appointment—Getting to know our clients

At the outset of every project we need to establish the overall objectives and gain a strategic brief

from the project sponsor. This will identify routes of communication, methods of information

gathering and sign-off procedures. We will also agree the deliverables that are required and the

timescales

To achieve the right solution, we need to gather information about the client organisation, we use a

number of tools to gather and review information including several stages of interviews and

workshops. The interview process is one of the best ways for us to get to know our client and

understand the business, departmental and individual needs.

This will commence with senior management, who may provide a broad perspective of their

requirements followed by interviewing the key stakeholders / heads of department to establish

their specific needs. This process may then cascade through the organisation and the information

gathered will be studied alongside the budget and building constraints to determine the brief

Our activities include:

Verification of overall department numbers and roles

Verification of teams inter-relationships and lines of communication

Ascertaining the clients meet and greet, social and meeting space requirements

Understanding of storage needs and resource hubs

Establish and challenge requirements for alternative working spaces including public

spaces, collaboration space and one-to-one rooms etc

Consideration of alternative working practices where appropriate

Audits of furniture, storage and equipment, providing schedules of condition where

existing is to be re-used, or an evaluation of existing against new.

When we have completed these activities, we analyse and interpret the information gathered to

create a client brief . Our interpretation of the information is collated into a report which highlights

the priorities for the project, the following information is provided :

Adjacency ’bubble’ plan to demonstrate the relationships between the departments,

Organisational chart linked to space usage

Accommodation schedule

Effective workstation standards for the business.

Once this brief is signed off, we commence on the first stage of the design process.

[ Ufi Learndirect, Leicester ]


2. Scheme Design and Detail Drawing Package

The information collated and the schedules generated in Stage One form the basis of the scheme

design stage and from these planning principles we start to formulate the scheme design based on

the following :

Establish general blocking and stacking plans to define the spaces

General Arrangement plans

Details of key areas such as reception /cafe/meeting suites

Identification of Audio-visual requirements

Furniture requirements

Brand expression and graphics

Overall look and feel of the spaces

The scheme proposals will be presented to the client for comment and review. We use a

combination of plans, elevations, mood boards and 3D visuals to help the client to understand the

process and the proposed design scheme .

There is also an opportunity to use the presentation material to engage with the staff by running

workshops, using a client intranet or newsletter to communicate the new scheme effectively.

Once the scheme design has been signed off, we can move onto the preparation of detailed

drawings and production information. A typical working drawing package will include the following:

General arrangement plans

Technical details

Elevations of partitioning and abutment details

AV integration

Lighting, power & data co-ordination

Kitchen/refreshment facilities

Flooring details

Design details of shared facilities e.g reception, meeting rooms, breakout spaces etc

Joinery details

Branding and graphics strategy

Finishes schedules and sample boards

Specification and performance standards

Designers risk assessment

Furniture installation drawing


[ Marsh McLennan Companies, Manchester ]


3. F F & E Specification

Claremont is not a furniture manufacturer. We are a privately owned company and not aligned to

any one manufacturer. Our design consultants have worked within the furniture industry for many

years and have a wealth of experience and manufacturing knowledge.

We understand that every client is different but because of our experience, we are able to gauge

manufacturers capabilities and bring together a portfolio of products from a variety of

manufacturers which play to their strengths and expertise.

By coordinating with other suppliers or sub-contractors, such as IT partners, we are able to present

fully resolved solutions and alternative concepts.

We prepare presentations of products and leave them with you for assessment without outside

influence, and we use three dimensional visuals to illustrate the products in situ so you can view

their application in your planned spaces. We evaluate sample product to ensure it meets the

product specification and carry out factory visits to confirm manufacturing capability.

We also carry out financial checks to help you assess company stability and therefore continuity of

supply and the validity of product warranties.

An overview of the services we can provide:

F F & E Specification

Detailed Cost Estimates Of All Aspects Of The F F & E Package

Pilot Workstations

Room Data Sheets

Furniture Installation drawings

Site Survey

Lead-Time Schedule

Risk Assessments, Method Statements And Health And Safety Guidance

Detailed Delivery & Installation Programme

In-House Delivery Fleet

Stock Management System

Furniture Storage Service / Warehouse Facilities

User Manuals And Training, As Required

Post-Installation Snagging Programme

Reconfiguration / Relocation Service

Furniture Handbook For The End User

Fixed Price Agreements


[ Manchester City Council, Manchester ]


4. Furniture Installation and Project Management

Although projects vary greatly in size and complexity, our experienced project management team

can help to “take away the pain” for all projects, from a single installation to complex phased

installations. We have significant project experience on new and existing buildings where phased

sequential moves have to be provided with no business disruption for the end users

We offer a comprehensive service for the on-site project management of the installation of all

furniture, fittings and equipment.

This may involve the following:

Attendance At Regular Site Meetings

Co-ordination of Suppliers

Programming of Work Packages

Overseeing all Site Installation

Inspection of Product For Conformance To Tender

Snagging and Defects Management

Compilation of all Product Documentation Including Cleaning and Maintenance

Product Training for Post Project Installation

Warranties and Guarantees

As the project progresses and the move day gets nearer, the role of Claremont focuses on the co-

ordination of the activities of all of the key participants. To ensure that all staff and contractors are

fully briefed for the imminent move, a final round of briefings and checks take place, these include:

Staff briefings

Contractor briefings

Final move checklists for staff

Labelling advice

Final checks of all arrangements

On-site management and client representation throughout the physical move

Monitoring of progress against scheduled activity and the resolution of issues as they

occur

We are in attendance on the first day of business after the move to introduce staff into their new

offices and to provide a friendly face, provide training on use of new furniture if required and assist

with post-move support generally.


[ West Cheshire College, Ellesmere Port ]


Recent Projects

CLIENT

(Location) DESCRIPTION SCOPE OF WORKS VALUE

WEST

CHESHIRE

COLLEGE

(Ellesmere

Port)

Programme: 4 weeks

Project Size: 210,000 sq ft

Synopsis: Supply and installation of all

furniture including some specialist

furniture for the vocational college’s

new Ellesmere Port campus.

FURNITURE £500k

WEST

CHESHIRE

COLLEGE

(Chester)

Programme: 1 week


Synopsis: Supply and installation of

desks, tables and storage to the

college’s new Chester campus.

FURNITURE £120k

DENTON

WILDE SAPTE

(Milton

Keynes)

Programme: 4 weeks


Synopsis: Provision of all system

furniture, including workstations,

operator chairs, soft seating,

executive furniture and filing.

FURNITURE £385k

MANCHESTER

CITY COUNCIL

(Manchester)

Programme: 7 weeks (Furniture)


Synopsis: Fit-out and complete

furniture package for One First Street

for approx. 1,400 Manchester City

Council staff.

FIT-OUT

FURNITURE £3m

CABLE AND

WIRELESS

(Bracknell)

Programme: 22 weeks


Synopsis: Fit-out and furniture

package including 500+ workstations.

FIT-OUT

FURNITURE

£3.5m

HILL

DICKINSON

(Liverpool)

Programme: 16 weeks


Synopsis: Provision of the complete

furniture package of the law firm’s

Liverpool office over 6 floors for 500+

employees.

FURNITURE £957k

O2

(Glasgow)

Programme: Phased over 7 months


Synopsis: Specify, supply and install

all loose furniture items to

accommodate 1,500 employees.

FURNITURE

£900k


[ The Nottingham Building Society, Nottingham ]


CLIENT DESCRIPTION SCOPE OF WORKS VALUE

JAMES HALL

(Preston)

Programme: 2 weeks


Synopsis: Fit-out and the provision of a

cost effective furniture solution,

including desking, screens, meeting

FIT-OUT

FURNITURE

£551k

NOTTINGHAM

BUILDING

SOCIETY

(Nottingham)

Programme: 12 weeks


Synopsis: Design and refurbishment

over 3 floors at Huntingdon Court

House enabling The Nottingham to

DESIGN

FIT-OUT

FURNITURE

AV

£1.2m

LIVERPOOL

FOOTBALL CLUB

(Liverpool)

Programme: 12 weeks


Synopsis: Design a new hospitality area

from redundant office space within the

stadium complex. The space provides a

number of facilities including a 230

cover restaurant, a bar, a refurbished

entrance, customer reception and

classroom.

DESIGN

FIT-OUT

FURNITURE

AV

£1.3m

LEGAL

OMBUDSMAN

(Birmingham)

Programme: 8 weeks


Synopsis: Interior design, fit out and the

provision of all furniture and the

installation of the AV package to

provide an exceptional working

DESIGN

FIT-OUT

FURNITURE

AV

£1.5m

SHEFFIELD

HALLAM

UNIVERSITY

(Sheffield)

Programme: 15 weeks


Synopsis: Design, fit-out and provision

of furniture across four floors at Aspect

Court including a series of seminar

rooms, PC room, breakout spaces and

DESIGN

FIT-OUT

FURNITURE

£1.6m

UFI

LEARNDIRECT

(Leicester)

Programme: 9 weeks


Synopsis: Design, fit-out and provision

of all furniture for Ufi’s new service

DESIGN

FIT-OUT

FURNITURE

£650k

Recent Projects


[ Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield ]


“Claremont’s team offered a wide range of suppliers and choices,

accommodated any radical schemes we had and steered us safely

thorough what could have been a mine field of working with different

companies, designers and finishes. They completely understood the

brief, which included matching our iconic building with suitable

furniture, but within a fairly tight budget. The team took the necessary

time and attention to detail and sourced some very unusual pieces at

“We have had such positive messages of support and amazement at

the building we now have to move AMS onto the next stage in its

development. Many thanks for your guidance and assistance

throughout the project, it indeed was a pleasure to work with you and

your team at Claremont.”

Elsie Perkins, Corporate Assistant; Advanced Medical Solutions,

“Belvedere represents a significant step change above and beyond any

other building in our regional portfolio. Claremont should rightly be

proud of their design and fit-out team—it looks superb.”

Ray Palmer, Operations Manager UK and Ireland; Marsh & McLennan

“From the very beginning of the project Acxiom required a very

different look and feel to its working environment. Working alongside

Claremont, we looked at both evolution and revolution in the design

proposal. The final design really met and in some ways exceeded our

expectations”

“We were looking for a company to add flair and design to this project.

The aim is to give our staff the opportunity to find new ways of

working and challenge existing norms in terms of office space.”

Alex Pettifer, Director of Estates and Facilities; Sheffield Hallam

University, Sheffield

Client Testimonials


[ Enegus, Workington ]


“It would be remise of me not to reiterate how delighted we are with

our new home and how much we have appreciated Claremont’s vision,

design skills and high level of service. It has been a pleasure working

with you all.”

Ian D Ditchfield, Property Investment Manager; Oddfellows,

“The contribution that Claremont has made to the look and feel of the

building cannot be underestimated. I found it highly enjoyable working

with a group of such professional and creative people.”

Andrew King, Chief Executive; ENERGUS, Cumbria

“Claremont offered us a fully integrated contracting service that

encompassed all aspects of this project. Our employees will benefit

from this vibrant new workspace that balances both form and function

whilst also maximising the ‘green’ aspects of the building.”

Mark Smith, Director of European Operations; Convergys, Newcastle

“I am delighted with the work Claremont Group Interiors has

completed in Leeds and Birmingham, creating two contemporary and

bright working environments to support our commercial objectives.

The team have successfully incorporated our corporate branding into

the design and created an enjoyable place to work.”

Neil Middleton, HR Director; Capsticks, Leeds

“Having worked with Claremont before following their recent

completion of our London office, they were a natural choice for this

project.”

Nick Peel, Regional Office Head; Weightmans LLP, Manchester

“Claremont has done an excellent job and we’re delighted with the

results. They have worked closely with us on a number of our office fit-

outs and truly understand our brand. Primarily, Claremont ensured our

business was able to function efficiently, regardless of the significant

changes that were being implemented and has once again delivered a

complex fit-out and a contemporary solution, on time and to budget.”

Carol Light, Head of Facilities Management; Shoosmiths, Nottingham

Client Testimonials


[email protected]

T: 01925 284 032 | M: 07799-133998

The Breeze

2 Kelvin Close

Warrington

WA3 7PB

Documents

Workplace design and furniture solutions for Main Contractors