Level 14, the Leadenhall Building

The desk layouts, ambience, and operational qualities on the 14th floor of the Leadenhall Building are entirely rational. Apart from elements of expressed internal structure, the only things that demonstrate the Richard Rogers vibe are the lime-green carpet, the low-slung amber roller cabinets, the precisely aligned flying saucer discs of the Spectral lighting overhead, and the bright blue, red, orange and green Håg Capisco seats.

The studio lies across a floorplate 45m wide and 42m deep. Its northern segment, which is connected to the vertical lift slab at the back of the building, includes the escape cores; it takes up just over a third of the floor area and is for ancillary functions. Reading west to east across this part of the office, there are two large conjoined 12-seater meeting rooms; a central portion containing the IT hub, model shop, and print room; the cafeteria and kitchen; and three small meeting rooms.

As for the main design floor, the centre of the plan features an open and fully visible island of desks and a large pin-up board for ad hoc discussions, or drawing. The rest of the design area is occupied by three zones of long desks, each divided by long low storage bins, with seated break-out spaces at the south-east and south-west corners. The lines of desks are arranged to appear loose-fit at their inward-facing ends, to avoid any sense of regimented production.

The fit-out design was undertaken in-house and reinterprets the practice’s design philosophy as flexible, legible space. Rather than using a suspended ceiling, the structure of the soffit and services are exposed, and the full height of the space is revealed, giving a greater sense of internal volume. The lighting design, by Speirs + Major is responsive to user needs, changing in tone through the day to mimic circadian patterns and promote wellbeing. There are no cellular offices, reflecting RSHP’s democratic philosophy. Instead, the corners are given over to quiet space, for meetings, reflection and relaxation.