Oktra South Offices – Guildford
Oktra realized the design for their new office relocation located in Guildford, England.
When Oktra South started planning their office relocation, there were eleven people in the office – and they were on top of each other. They needed more space. So, they moved from 226 square feet of serviced office space, to their own 4,000 square foot workspace in Friary Court, Guildford. And they designed it themselves. The key goal? To keep everyone connected, despite moving to a space 1,770% bigger than their previous office.
Oktra South started by developing the brief, together. They put the floor-plan on the wall and, if anyone had an idea, they could get up and add it to the plan. At the end of every week, for about three months, they would discuss what was on the plan, develop the brief and put the updated plan on the wall. This enabled Oktra South to start zoning in on specific areas and uncover big adjacency bubbles. Another main consideration for Oktra South, when shaping the space, centred around ensuring the space felt full on move-in day and could accommodate future expansion.
In Oktra South’s new workspace, everything centres around a long table. It’s a great communal space where the team can spread out or come together. They consciously didn’t add many cellular spaces because of the way they work – they just don’t need them. Everything else was designed around the team, so they have everything they need: meeting rooms, workshops and breakout spaces. The space is also designed to evolve as the Oktra South team do; currently, ten people sit at the communal table, but it can seat up to twenty-six people.
Design: Oktra
Photography: Oliver Pohlmann
