Yorkshire Water
Improving employee engagement with a water company office fit-out
Before the first UK COVID-19 lockdown, Yorkshire Water had surveyed staff working at its Livingstone House office in Leeds to identify where the workspace could be improved. Responses included making the building easier to navigate and making it easier for staff to access senior leaders.
Throughout lockdown, Yorkshire office fit-out specialists Richardsons worked with Yorkshire Water to redesign Livingstone House to better meet staff needs and improve both wellbeing and engagement.
The brief
Our brief was to redesign the entire building to reduce the number of desks by half, introduce more breakout and meeting spaces for collaborative work, and make the building easier to navigate for both staff and visitors. We were also asked to make the Directors’ areas more accessible for staff to seek help and guidance from senior leaders.
Sustainability was a core part of the project, and Yorkshire Water was keen to create as little waste as possible and make use of the most sustainable materials throughout the project.
Our approach
We carefully planned the new office layout, incorporating a variety of different spaces to provide staff with options around how and where to work.
Sustainability was central to the project, and we ensured that it was considered throughout, from the infrastructure company’s office design, to the removal of legacy furniture. For example, we installed 100% recyclable carpet tiles made from a chalk-based waste product from the Dutch waterboard, and uplifted and recycled the old flooring back to the manufacturer chain.
We individually inspected 650 existing task chairs, to create an audit of tasks that each chair required. This led to a programme of replacing damaged parts on existing chairs, either using parts from unrepairable chairs that were then sent to be recycled, or with brand new items. The upholstery was then cleaned on all items, returning them to their former glory.
The result
The water company’s sustainable office fit-out resulted in a sustainably crafted, multifunctional workspace.
Flexible breakout areas
Reconfigurable breakout areas, including desks with built-in screens, high tables and meeting spaces, replaced unused desks.
In-built wayfinding
Coloured zones marked by carpets and upholstery make navigating the multi-storey building much more straightforward.
Sustainable furniture
Sustainability features throughout, including office furniture made from recycled fishing nets from the Philippines.
Reimagined reception
A new reception desk and multiple privacy pods replaced the canteen area that was no longer in use.
The impact
The redesign of Livingstone House meant that the space was better suited to its staff’s needs. We created a modern, multifunctional workspace that visitors and staff could navigate and use intuitively. The environmental impact was also impressive, with almost nothing going to landfill.
Since the completion of Livingstone House, Richardsons and Yorkshire Water have continued to work together on numerous other projects with sustainability at the centre.