The recent fit out of Savills’ new Welsh headquarters saw commercial interior design and supply specialists, Imium, enlisted to create a modern-day, cohesive working environment, while still adhering to the brand’s traditional values.
Forbo Flooring Systems’ striking Allura Flex Luxury Vinyl Tiles (LVT) and Tessera Seagrass carpet tiles have played an integral role in the smart new interior.
Situated in the heart of Cardiff city centre, the new Savills office benefits from spectacular top floor views overlooking Cardiff Castle. Having previously been spread over five floors in the company’s former office, the purpose of the move was to create a collaborative and agile working environment across one floor that works for staff, clients and visitors alike.
Rhiannon Phillips, Interior Designer at Imium, explained: “The floor comprises of both employee and customer facing areas, therefore it was important that the space was conducive for clients without affecting business as usual. We were notified by the Savills marketing department of the brand guidelines that we needed to adhere to, in terms of finishes, to make sure that the Savills story was portrayed.
"We took inspiration from the company’s heritage and ethos and incorporated different themes within the office based on the various sectors that the firm operates in. For the customer facing area, we used a lot of silk, walnut and a splash of the colour red to reflect the residential sector.
“We opted for Forbo’s Allura Flex 0.55 LVT in Classic Rough Oak throughout all of the customer facing areas, including the reception and meet and greet area, the residential sales rooms and in the corridors.
"The heterogeneous LVT was also used in employee pods and informal meeting areas, as well as in the breakaway tea point areas. Laid in a herringbone pattern, the traditional wooden aesthetics of the flooring complemented the walnut desks and the dark detailing provides quite a domestic feel which is the effect we wanted to create, particularly on the client facing side as, essentially, customers were coming in to buy a home.”
Allura Flex 0.55 loose lay tiles offers a high quality and dimensionally stable versatile solution in LVT. The striking and realistic designs reflect the latest flooring trends and allow for endless combination opportunities. Produced using phthalate-free technology, Allura Flex is adhered with tackifier rather than permanent adhesive and is ideal for use alongside carpet tiles due to its height. Enhanced with a PUR Pearl finish, they are also easy to clean and maintain, helping to create hygienic environments.
Gareth Wood from G Wood Flooring, who installed the floors, commented: “Allura Flex 0.55 LVT is specially designed for loose lay installation so this saved us a lot of time on the floor preparation. If a standard LVT had been chosen, we would have had to ply board over the existing steel access panel flooring, so this kept installation costs down for the client, as minimal work was required. The material was very easy to handle and fit; I like using Allura Flex as it speeds up installation and there is no mess afterwards.”
Furthermore, 70m2 of Tessera Seagrass carpet tile planks in the colourway Oyster were selected for the main boardroom and smaller meeting rooms in the customer facing areas. The combination of dark and light speckles with a softly striated design emanates comfort and tranquility for a positive office environment. Moreover, the tufted multi-height loop carpet tile comprises of at least 58% recycled content for a sustainable finish.
Rhiannon concluded: “As soon as you come out of the lift onto the fifth floor, you enter the customer facing area. Wherever the customer is in the Savills office – whether they are waiting to be greeted, are in a sales consulting room or even in a boardroom meeting – they will always be stood on Forbo flooring, which in turn really complements the rest of the space for the Cardiff headquarters.”
The Savills, Cardiff project was ‘Commended’ in the Fly Forbo 2017/2018 competition.