Supreme Freight Offices – Southampton
AXIS House transformed a dilapidated building into Supreme Freight’s modern office hub, incorporating the brand’s colors, smart meeting rooms, natural light, biophilic features, and a central breakout area for improved working culture.
Based in Southampton, Supreme Freight is an international shipping handler with a global network of agents based in ports and airports worldwide.
When we first engaged with Supreme Freight, their Southampton workforce was spread over multiple locations. To improve efficiency and staff wellbeing, the company was keen to bring all its employees into one site. The firm acquired a 12,000 sq ft commercial office to condense its five offices into one.
Whilst it had a solid core structure, the building was in extremely poor condition. Having been relatively unchanged since the 1980s, the company needed the support of a specialist contractor who could deliver both the structural upgrades and the office fit out needed.
AXIS House took a proactive stance, attending the initial survey visit with a full team and provided a comprehensive presentation portfolio, which enabled Supreme Freight to accurately cost and budget the project, but also make energy efficiency improvements for long-term savings.
A freightfully good solution!
We worked with Supreme Freight to create a space plan for the office and a ‘shopping list’ of all the working required to bring the building itself up to a modern specification and improve energy performance.Following a thorough survey of the property, we advised recommendations for upgrading the building’s existing layout and infrastructure. Changes included stripping out the ceilings, flooring, original windows, and server room, refurbishing the lifts, adding new ventilation, along with extensive mechanical and electrical upgrades.
Unique design features
To further reinforce Supreme Freight’s visual identity, the brand’s core colours were subtly incorporated throughout the design. As well as hot desks for hybrid workers, the layout also includes designated desks for those who travel into the office every day.We introduced a smart new meeting room to host clients and suppliers, outfitted with a feature wall in the guise of a shipping container – a playful nod to the client’s business operations.
Biophilic Features
Biophilic principles were very important to the Directors, with plenty of access to natural daylight and the ability to open the office windows for fresh air and natural ventilation. The existing windows were unable to accommodate this, so AXIS House upgraded the windows accordingly and additionally introduced real planting to help with air purification.Positive impact on working culture
A key requirement of the brief was to create a centralised breakout area. Designed to act as both a canteen and working lounge, this space has become a social destination where employees can work in a more relaxed setting and enjoy social colleague gatherings.Where previously the freight specialists had naturally been very email-centric communicating between sites, staff can now interact in person much more effectively, revolving issues quicker and their productivity has markedly increased.
Environmental Funding
To assist towards the costs of the works, we advised Supreme Freight on a range of schemes they could access. Implementing these changes have the added benefit of making the office more cost effective to run, offering further long-term savings and an A-Grade EPC rating.The end-to-end transformation, including all structural works required before any fit-out and furnishing could commence, took just 12 weeks in total. Supreme Freight has now withdrawn from its various office throughout Southampton into its new purpose-built headquarters, aptly re-named as Supreme House.
Design: AXIS House
Photography: Marek Sikora
