We’re delighted to announce one of our latest successful projects and a delighted client. The James Hay Partnership specialise in retirement and financial planning and is based in the iconic Dunn’s House building in Salisbury. The building was originally built as a grain store but was converted into offices post the Second World War. The building, steeped in history, has undergone a major office refit and has created a real juxtaposition between the external facade and the modern facilities it now houses.
The James Hay Partnership is an existing client for Spaceway. So when they needed to convert their ground floor space and modernise its existing offices, it was a natural fit for us to undertake the project.
The old ground floor space has been fully converted into a modern, functional and fresh reception area and executive suite. Before the refurbishment, it was home to the company’s underground car park and waste storage. This part of the project had its challenges in terms of logistics and designs. Due to the nature of its past use, the ceiling heights were very low, therefore it took a lot of careful design and planning to ensure the ceilings which encompass the air con units, created the illusion of light and space.
Speaking about the relationship, Dominic O’Brien, Director at Spaceway said: “We worked with their architect and found we had lots of common ground. We initially undertook a smaller job for the client and that went really well. We converted some breakout space into office and storerooms, about six months prior and the client was happy with the quality of our workmanship. We were then invited to tender for the entire office block and we were successful in our bid.”
The upstairs offices have also benefited from a makeover and this included private meeting rooms, conference rooms, reception and break out area.
All work had to be carefully undertaken as the building is home to 600 employees who all needed to continue to undertake their daily activities. There had to be very clear lines of communication between Spaceway and the client to ensure the health and safety of the staff when entering and leaving the building.
Speaking about the project, Dominic added: “There were some very challenging aspects of this project, firstly because the ground floor ceiling was not the height of a standard office, the nature of its previous use as an underground car park and store needed careful design consideration to increase a feeling of light and space. We had to install a special raft design ceiling, with suspended panels from the roof which gave the feeling of extra space.”
It took 16 weeks to complete the project and was delivered on time and to budget. Dominic added: “The client was so happy with the work we had undertaken that they extended the project. We then worked with them on new front doors, a staff entrance with security barriers, new signage, glass partitions and the addition of a soundproof door to ensure client confidentiality is upheld at all times.”
Although the underground car park has now been removed, there is still parking outside the front of the building. The James Hay Partnership now operates a car-sharing scheme to help incentivise its employees to drive to work.
To watch a video and see the transformation within Dunn’s House please click play on the video below….