SoVibrant Hornbeam House Hornbeam Park Harrogate HG2 8QT Mark Kitching mark.kitching@sovibrant.co.uk www.sovibrant.co.uk +44 1423 789388 +44 7789 776964 Data Collection Summary The Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales Office Relocation and Centralisation Project
Introduction As part of SoVibrant s data collection activities we provided opportunity for staff at all levels to have their say and offer suggestions regarding some of the facilities to be considered as part of the overall design for the new building on York Place in Leeds, set to become the new head office. Both the questionnaire activity and focus group meetings had a section of questioning surrounding extra facilities and look and feel aspirations for the new building, helping us to prioritise and correctly consider all input into our designs and concepts. During our time spent visiting the existing 4 office locations in Bradford, Harrogate, Leeds and Wakefield, it quickly became apparent that a number of ideals and suggestions for the expectations of the new building were similar, showing a joined up mentality towards the office relocation and centralisation project overall. The following sections of this document will provide feedback regarding the parts of our data collection which surrounded opinions on what facilities will be important to the use and performance of the new building. Note: At this stage in the project, ICT provisions will not be part of this document. Image of building prior to external cosmetic works. 1
Cafe Close to 30% of those involved in our data collection activities believed the new HQ building would benefit from a cafe. Due to the level of benefits such an addition would have for the Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales, the provision of a cafe, for use by both staff and the public is planned to be a major part of the Ground Floor designs. The inclusion of a cafe space would not only provide an area for staff and public alike to relax and socialise, but can also become a very strong informal meeting area and a great way to entice people into the building, helping to create and maintain new and existing relationships. With supplier negotiations well under way, a stipulation for the cafe, thanks to a very high volume of requests and feedback from staff, is for the provision of good quality coffee. Attendance at staff coffee mornings really did show the benefit and importance of bringing everyone together over a decent coffee. We believe that by using a mixture of furniture and seating it will become possible to create a number of cafe settings suitable for a wide range of uses, from the quick five minute catch up between staff, right through to long afternoon tea. 2
Staff Room / Breakout Space Another frequently encountered request to emerge from our data collection activities was for breakout space. This request more often than not followed on from conversation about having an alternative place for staff to informally meet and converse, eat their lunches, or take periods of rest away from their desks and computer screens. Instead of supplying a designated staffroom, we are looking to incorporate breakout space into each available floor, serving the meeting room suite on the ground floor and the open office areas on the Second and Third Floors. Breakout spaces are to be located close to kitchenettes on the upper office floors for convenient preparation of hot food and drinks, and will consist of a mixture of furniture and seating settings to offer a choice of location suitable to the user and their requirements. Prayer / Quiet Room While in attendance at the existing 4 office locations, it became obvious that because of the nature of the organisation, there exists a requirement for a Prayer / Quiet Room. This is an area we envisage to be quiet and private, available for reflection in small groups or by individuals who just need a moment to contemplate or pray. Shower and Changing Facilities Shower and changing facilities were requested specifically for those who cycle to work, and for those who have long meetings or commutes where the option to freshen up would be welcome. The inclusion of both disabled and abled-bodied shower and changing areas into our designs provides option for all staff to use these conveniences, whether cycling to work or leaving for meetings or not. The shower facilities are set to be complete with lockers for personal storage and vanity areas. Cycle storage will also be available for any staff cycling to work. 3
Training Facilities / Meeting Room Suite Using specific questioning surrounding meeting and training commitments, we have been able to make informed and evidentially based design decisions surrounding the provision of meeting rooms and training facilities. As well as the cafe, our proposals have included five mid to large size rooms on the Ground Floor. These would be electronically bookable rooms suitable to accommodate meetings and training sessions of differing sizes ranging from 4 persons up to 30 persons in conference formation or beyond when using a theatre style funiture layout. The furniture choices in these meeting rooms will offer flexibility to easily change individual room settings and purpose, with the additional benefit of a local furniture store to keep any furniture not in use away from sight. The Ground Floor meeting suite is proposed to be served by a kitchenette for supply of hot drinks and will also contain a breakout space. Smaller size, non-bookable meeting rooms are also proposed for the upper office floors. These would accommodate more ad-hoc team or project meetings, private conversations or phonecalls, or more personal one to one discussions. Each formal meeting/training space is proposed to be audio and visually connected to presentation technology for universal use. Welcoming Reception and Waiting Room Because of the high importance of relationships to the type of work the Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales do, and the importance of a good first impression for visitors to the building, feedback from data collection showed a priority for a welcoming, comfortable and relaxing Reception space. Current plans for Reception include a feature Reception desk in a centralised location, ensuring Reception staff can effectively greet any visitors, with some soft seating and a coffee table in a waiting area where guests can take a seat while waiting to be seen. Plans for the Reception and waiting space also includes access control barriers to keep up security and a TV/display screen for showcasing recent Diocese news, or viewing for those using the waiting room. 4
Natural Daylight and Opening Windows In many city centre office spaces, levels of fresh air and natural light are a concern. One of the main strengths to the newly purchased building are its windows, with a number of feature windows across the building and large light well on the third floor. While not all of the windows of the building open, a generous proportion do, and in conjunction with upgraded existing air conditioning and heating these will help to create a comfortable environment all year round. All floors are designed in a way to make best use of the windows and the natural light they will provide. Any furniture in line with windows will be kept at low level where ever possible, with taller furniture and storage cabinets kept to perimeter walls. Images of building prior to initial soft strip-out works. Admin Room Because of the current levels of support offered by administration staff and function, requests were made to dedicate space to administration, ensuring the levels of support can continue post relocation. During our visits and observations we learnt of the importance of high volume print jobs and setting out space for many departments, especially for preparation of training or information packs to be sent out to various locations. To aid in this process it has been planned to contain high volume print/scanning technology and space to collate paperwork within the Admin space on the Ground Floor. This means tasks requiring use of the printer for long periods of time can be sent to the Admin Room printers, keeping printers in general office areas free for regular use by all departments. 5
Equipment Storage / Storage Areas As often the case when relocating four locations into one, there will be pressures on storage provision. A number of responses in the questionnaire spoke in length about storage requirements, including both filing and equipment. There are a number of existing storage spaces and equipment stores already within the building which we are looking to continue to use. Cleaners stores exist on alternate floors going up the building, and we have also added a further cleaners store in the cafe and decent sized furniture store to aid in the reconfiguration of meeting rooms on the Ground Floor. Storage cabinets for filing and paperwork will be added to the open office areas where possible, ensuring we retain the desired flow of natural light by using a mixture of low and tall cabinets in a selection of locations, with dedicated coat storage on each floor also. A generous sized storeroom exists on the Third Floor which we will be retaining. This space already contains a large fireproof safe and existing shelving, with space for further oversize equipment towards the back of the room. Initial plans drawn up provided considerate storage furniture and locations for a building of the size, yet a decrease in storage levels currently held will be required to accommodate existing levels of filing and paperwork. A decrease in levels of filing would further aid efforts by the Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales to become a more paperless, and therefore environmentally friendly organisation, saving on paper, printing and storage costs in the future. Lift Access Image of differing storage solutions on plan Not a frequent request to emerge from our data collection, but an important one to a small number of individuals, was for lift access between floors. As common with many modern city centre buildings, a lift is provided, granting access to all floors including the basement. 6
Hot Desking When analysing a number of the departments and existing ways of working, we noticed a number of departments have members of staff who work from home as their main work location, or are predominently out making external visits and therefore have not had a desk in one of the office locations in the past. We believe that in any project similar to this one, a part of the new buildings objectives should be to encourage those staff feel to included and to make use of the newly provided facilities. By planning some hot desk benching into our designs this sends out a positive message to any home or external workers that they are always welcome to come join their peers and colleagues in the new building, and can be confident they can find a place to work effectively from. Gym One request we have unfortunately not been able to accommodate due to the space restrictions of the building, is for the provision of some items of gym equipment in a designated fitness or gym area. To have been able to accommodate everything the Diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales requires to operate effectively, plus some other niceties, it was not possible to find the space to fit a gym or fitness room. Alternatively, research has shown that the new building is located in a very convenient area for those looking to exercise as part of their daily routines. Staff will have the option of a number of health and leisure centres, gyms and exercise activities on offer all within in the local area (see map on opposite page). 7
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SoVibrant Hornbeam House Hornbeam Park Harrogate HG2 8QT Mark Kitching mark.kitching@sovibrant.co.uk www.sovibrant.co.uk +44 1423 789388 +44 7789 776964