After more than 37 years at Brettenham House, ECI has now moved office! When we first looked to move, we asked the ECI team what they wanted from the transition. There were a few things that stood out:
- A design that felt modern and reflective of ECI’s ambitious and energetic way of working
- A space designed for collaboration, and reflective of changing working practices post-Covid.
- An office that felt equitable with no ‘prime’ seats or offices, but one that allowed everyone to learn from one another, interact and exchange ideas.
- An office that supported employee wellbeing, from creating a harmonious space, to providing opportunities for calm focus, and ensuring ergonomic furniture and standing desks
- Nearby! We have very long tenure at ECI and most of the team have planned their lives around the office, so we wanted somewhere that meant minimal disruption to people’s commutes.
- Wanting the move to be sustainable. Changing office space should be an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to minimising our environmental impact.
The design of ECI’s new office:
We instructed Peldon Rose, office design and build experts, as our partner for the move. They worked with us on a Workplace Strategy to establish a suitable setup for our modern hybrid working. They helped us to understand how we used the spaces we already had and what people felt like they were missing. This led to a much more open floorplate with shared collaboration spaces as well as quiet focus areas.
ECI decided to move into 80 Strand, a stunning Art Deco building (that crucially was 5 minutes from our old office!), that offers fantastic riverside views, shared spaces filled with greenery, and state-of-the-art facilities.
Peldon Rose designed the office to leverage the features of the building, such as the pastel green of the bookshelves reflecting the oxidised copper finish of the glasshouse. The brass trim around the inset chevron and the coffered detailing on the walls framing artwork and wall lamps were designed to be in keeping with the materiality and art deco design of the building.
A sustainable move:
We will be writing a blog soon sharing the lessons we learned about moving office sustainably, but it is something that requires quite a lot of dedicated effort. Here are a few projects that were incorporated into the office move:
- A reusability strategy for the existing furniture
- A charity auction of existing office items
- A project with the landlord to improve the energy efficiency of the building
- Ensuring materials and furniture were aligned with BREEAM
- Working with partners to resell or recycle existing office furniture that couldn’t move over seeking a zero-landfill strategy
- A charity partnership for safely recycling our existing technology
- An office filled with plants and greenery
Artwork for the new office:
We wanted to bring colour and vibrancy into the new office with artwork that brightened up the space.
Our three offices: We reflected our three offices in our meeting rooms, with designs from London, Manchester and New York.
Film and music: Can you guess what the common link is between these albums and film posters and ECI?
The ECI dot: The yellow dot of the ECI logo was picked up in artwork and design across the office
Reflecting the local area: A print of Victoria Embankment Gardens which is on the office doorstep
ECI’s heritage: From the original newspaper clipping from ECI’s founding to pictures of us doing a murder mystery on Zoom, to our most recent fundraising activities – we wanted to fill the space with photos for the team and the history of ECI over the last 47 years.
Take a look next time you’re in reception at our portfolio company postcards designed by Oku Studio, bringing to life just a few of the exceptional companies that we’ve backed.
A good spot for Brenda:
Celebrating her 39th year at ECI, we crucially made sure Brenda had the best views in the new office!
Thank you so much to the Peldon Rose Team and everyone at ECI who was involved in making the move a success.
