Thomson Snell & Passmore Offices – Royal Tunbridge Wells
Workplace Creations have designed the offices for Thomson Snell & Passmore, a legal services company located in Royal Tunbridge Wells, England.
Established in 1570, Thomson, Snell and Passmore (TS&P) are the oldest law firm still operating in the UK and in 2017, after outgrowing their disjointed and now dysfunctional offices in the heart of Tunbridge Wells, it was time for a new home. Heathervale House, a 3-storey 1970’s building just a stone’s throw away from TS&P’s then current premises was to be redeveloped and expanded, and was identified as the perfect property to support TS&P’s growth and change leading up to their 450th anniversary.
After being appointed at an extremely early stage of the redevelopment project, Workplace Creations became a trusted advisor and were able to significantly influence the developer’s Cat A design for the benefit of TS&P, as Heathervale House was extended both vertically and horizontally to create 2,500sqm of net office accommodation.
Coming from a traditional cellular working environment, the brief was to create a modern flexible workspace – “open plan but not as we know it”. We planned each working floor to be open and communal spaces whilst retaining much needed privacy for lawyers. Equally, each floor was equipped with a mixture of both formal and informal meeting areas where staff can collaborate in ad-hoc discussions or work through planned meetings, signalling a major change and modernisation in the way the company work. A casual walk through the working floors will now reveal a quiet buzz; a sense of calm efficiency, now that colleagues are close at hand yet provided with the means of concentration for those everyday legal tasks, surrounded by high performing acoustic surfaces. Within an hour of “Go Live” everyone was productive and thriving in this unfamiliar but comforting workspace, and this appears to be an enduring characteristic.
Design: Workplace Creations
Photography: Marek Sikora
