Cirencester Friendly Society
New Build Office Fit-Out and RelocationWe recently completed a full furniture fit-out of a brand-new building for Cirencester Friendly Society, a member-owned business providing income protection and support. We were briefed to create a high-quality, professional working environment, whilst incorporating Cirencester Friendly’s company colours, motives and values.
The team were tasked with designing the main building reception, both open-plan and private offices, a training room, breakout spaces, boardroom, canteen, washrooms, meeting rooms and kitchens.
The initial stages saw our design team produce 2D floor plans, 3D renders and mood boards detailing fabrics and finishes for the client to ensure their core values were being reflected accurately in the design.
As we were involved in the very early stages of the project, we had a good awareness of what was required by the client and were able to hit the ground running once given the go ahead.
Throughout the project we had to be flexible as several changes were made once the work had begun, right up until the day of the move. We produced a detailed strategy specifically for the move which came in use for Cirencester Friendly when making the final changes to the plan.
One challenge we encountered, however, was having to introduce an open-plan office to staff who were unfamiliar with them. It was therefore important to accommodate each department with their specific requirements.
We also experienced delays from the reception desk manufacturer. As the completion date drew closer, we arranged for a loan desk to be installed however, the actual desk arrived the day before the move and the fitters installed it in record time. This meant the project was finished, as promised, on the agreed completion date.
Cirencester Friendly awarded us the project as they found us to be very responsive and felt they could trust us to carry out the work exactly to their requirements. Regular updates and constant communication also helped in building a fantastic relationship.
Ultimately, there were many aspects of the design in which we worked very closely with Cirencester Friendly and this resulted in both parties being thrilled with the end result.
Project info
Client: Cirencester Friendly Society
Project Date: 2019
Project Manager: Lloyd Coldrick & Gemma Gold
Project Value: £££
Project Location: Cirencester
“ We already had a relationship with Cobus for the supply and storage of office furniture. It made sense given this good relationship, for us to give them an opportunity to tender along with 4 other prospects for the furniture supply for our new offices and for support in our relocation. Cobus were the outstanding supplier who met all of our requirements coupled with a very approachable and flexible relationship, the whole project felt personal. Cobus cared. Easily and as a team, Cobus provided an expert team for design, planning, management and relocation, all were on hand for any questions however large or small and accommodated lots of last-minute changes and tweaks to the plan without complaint. Cobus not only met all our requirements and provided lots of fresh and new ideas, their ethos of working ensured the design, fitting and relocation happened with ease. The Cobus team visited the construction site and our current offices and spoke to staff to ensure the design incorporated as many needs as possible. The team were understanding and patient, considering we also moved our relocation plan forward last minute – nothing was too much trouble!”
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