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smart design goes hand-in-hand withsmart business. Therefore, when wereceive a story, we make sure we find

out a little about the end-user – thebusiness.

A story which begins ‘We moved herebecause it’s easy for our MD to get to…’probably won’t make the final cut.

One sector which continually bringswith it smart design for smart businesses is

the legal sector. We’re fascinated by thedesign of the modern law firm. There are somany considerations; open plan or cellular,modern or traditional aesthetics, formal orinformal – we’re sure you get the picture.

This is a study, in our humble opinion,that perfectly illustrates how smart designand considered business structure can cometogether to drastically enhance a company.The key to this success may well be that

both client and designer have put businessfirst. Quite simply, the offices we have cometo see today make absolute sense – and thatis a massive compliment.

We’re talking about Fladgate LLP – oneof the UK’s top 100 law firms, with a strongreputation for both commercial and privateclient work. With a global reach, the firmhas a broad skills base that covers a widespectrum of legal services. The firm has an

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Garden’s GateHave you ever considered the many project stories we are offered and yetgraciously decline? Well, we like to think of ourselves as honest people – and welike to think that this title reflects the entire market, its trends and smart design.

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acknowledged expertise in undertakingcomplex corporate and propertytransactions, as well as commercial, tax andtrust matters and disputes.

Fladgate combines a flexible andresponsive style of service with practical, in-depth experience, to provide legal advicethat reflects the commercial context inwhich it is sought.

The firm’s clients are drawn from allsectors of commerce and industry andinclude multinational corporations, publicsector bodies, entrepreneurs and individuals.

The location of the new FladgateLondon home sets the tone; previouslysituated in the West End, the firm has nowput its clients first and moved to CoventGarden – providing easy access for, well, justabout everyone in London. We are met onthe 9th floor of the Covent Garden space

by John Robertson Architects DirectorFestus Moffat, who is happy to guide usthrough the new Fladgate home and tell usa little more about the background to theproject. ‘Fladgate was previously in NorthRow in Mayfair,’ he begins. ‘They wantedto move, and they also needed to movebecause the lease was up there. Thebuildings were pretty tired – and they werealso right opposite the new Park Housedevelopment and they didn’t fancy beingopposite a building site for three years.’

The move comes in the firm’s 250th yearand marks the beginning of a new chapterin its history, underlining its confidence,ambition and plans for future growth. ‘Theywere already thinking about the brand andwhat the firm stood for before the projectbegan,’ Festus reveals. ‘They wanted topresent themselves as a smart, established

firm – but not flash. They didn’t want thespace to feel like an airport lounge – theydidn’t want it to feel intimidating orostentatious. They wanted it to feelbusinesslike. In terms of the choice oflocation, Covent Garden brings together thecommercial approach of the West End andthe gravitas of the City, reflecting theevolution of Fladgate’s business.’

The firm was previously housed in twobuildings in Mayfair, and has now broughtits entire staff under one roof in largerpremises on Great Queen Street. Althoughit has been based in W1 since the 1950’s,the firm was actually founded in SuffolkStreet, Charing Cross in 1760, just a shortdistance from the new building.

The move, we discover, has actually beenfive years in the planning, and the firm haslong-recognised the need for larger, moremodern premises to support its futuregrowth plans. Having scoured the propertymarket and looked at a number ofprospective properties, the Great QueenStreet building immediately caught theFladgate eye and imagination. ‘It was shelland core throughout the floors,’ Festusrecalls. ‘The building is configured in twoblocks; there’s a tower element and apodium that run at 90° from one another.

‘Furthermore, this part of this wing is anew penthouse space, which means thisspace is higher and more generous andtherefore was an obvious choice for thenew client suite here. We actuallydemolished the old 8th floor and built thenew 8th and 9th floor. So effectively clientsonly come to this floor – whilst all theother floors here are fee-earner floors.’

We walk through to the clean, brightreception space that sits in front of anequally impressive client meeting suite. Agreat deal of attention has clearly been paidto the finishes and palette here, withneutrals and woods combined. ‘The existingbuilding has a very limited floor to ceilingheight, which makes it quite a challenge,’Festus admits. ‘Squeezing everything in – interms of both the CAT A and the morebespoke elements – was quite a challenge inparticular.

‘Picking up on the palette we have used,we have taken the flooring from the lobbythrough into the client reception, matchedwith a very simple, natural straight grainoak panelling, which we’ve twisted a littlewith an almost random match design.

‘We also did a lot of analysis withFladgate, and found out that many of theirmeetings were one-to-one, not necessarilythe big corporate meetings. So a number of

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����������the meeting rooms within the suite here arepurposely designed so that people won’tfeel lost in a huge space, but arecomfortable for smaller meetings.

‘Also, there are a number of rooms alongthe other side of the suite that are designedto accommodate between six and tenpeople. The larger rooms are extremelyflexible, so you can break them down intotwo or three smaller spaces, or you canopen them right up so that the space canaccommodate up to 70 people. It sits as areally neat space and we have put quite a lotof technology into here. Everything iscontrolled centrally.

‘This is a considerable upgrade fromwhat they had in the West End. I think theyare really increasing the profile of the firmon the back of this building.’

In total, JRA has provided a spaciousreception, 15 meeting rooms, and flexibleseminar and board room space for 150people here. Again, the palette, and the useof timbers in particular, catches the eye,providing a clever contemporary twist onthe classical wood panels associated with theclassical law firm.

Walking through to ‘the tower’ wing, wefind more than a touch more ingenuitybuilt into the design. The aforementionedheight limitations were a clear challenge forthe team.

‘What we’ve done here is we’ve createdthick walls that accommodate all the M&E,and that means there is essentially nothingin the ceiling other than the lights, so wecan get as much floor to ceiling height inhere as we can,’ Festus reveals. ‘All the airconditioning units are behind the panels aswell – so everything is integrated into theservice walls.

‘We also cut the walls down on the otherside and put in the floor to ceilingwindows, allowing 180° views and lots ofnatural light.’

It’s important to note that this is a firmthat is growing – and not just in numbers.This is clearly a firm growing rapidly instature and reputation. The JRA-designedspace helps accommodate that in everysense.

‘Because the space splits between client-facing and back of house, there are teapoints where the tower and the podium

meet,’ Festus says as we continue throughthe space. ‘There are also external walkwaysor balconies which open up from the newpenthouse floor, which are great forsummer.’

Moving down to the fee-earner floors,we find a real hive of Fladgate activity.Something of a change from the serenityand demure nature of the client facing areasabove us, these working floors feature opensupport ‘avenues’ through the centre of thespace, with glazed fee-earner cellular officeslining the perimeter. This doesn’t feel likean ‘us-and-them’ space however, withvirtually every office open and accessible.Each floor has its own smart tea point cumbreakout space, whilst the finishes ofnaturals and timber are continued fromupstairs.

The new mid-town offices of Fladgateachieve that clever balancing act; smart,welcoming, impressive, yet not flash, notostentatious and definitely not showing thefirm’s clients exactly where their money isbeing spent.

It’s found its place right in the middle –in pretty much every sense

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essential ingredients | Client • Fladgate LLP | Interior Design • John Robertson Architects 020 7633 5100

16 Great Queen Street Main Contractor • Skanska | Landlord • Henderson Global Investors

Furniture • Wilkhahn 020 7324 2900

Seating • Wilkhahn 020 7324 2900

Carpets • Shaw Contract Group 020 7490 4006

Partitioning • Straehle www.straehle.de