Hootsuite re-imagines London office at LABS 90 High Holborn for future of work – Workplace | Design

The social media management platform’s London office makes a statement with its bold new office design

Social media management platform Hootsuite has unveiled the opening of its 8,390 sq ft re-imagined office ‘London Nest’ which is located on the sixth floor of LABS 90 High Holborn, a landmark building located in London’s Knowledge Quarter. Alongside leading flexible workspace providers, LABS, Hootsuite’s redesigned Holborn-based office space puts workforce preferences, employee wellbeing and the future of work front of mind.

To complete the revamp of its London space, Hootsuite conducted an internal survey about what its employees, who are also referred to as ‘Owls’ at the company, wanted in their workspace. The survey found that 62% of its 105 London Owls would prefer to go into the office 1-3 days a week and 30% would prefer to head in just a couple times a month.

Furthermore, the survey uncovered that mental health had been greatly impacted by pandemic-related isolation, and that people were looking for spaces that supported collaboration and opportunities for connection. The majority of Owls were looking for connectedness while still having the ability to work from home and design their own work style.

“Throughout the Covid-19 crisis, Hootsuite has taken the approach of an employee-led distributed workforce strategy. Now that people are returning to the office, we wanted to ensure these spaces are designed for the return to work and that our employees feel comfortable and are able to be the best version of themselves in the workplace,” says Karen Chapman, EMEA Office Manager, Hootsuite.

“The LABS team have been superb as we collaborate with them to customise the space to accommodate future ways of working that best support our Owls.”

Located at LABS 90 High Holborn since 2019, Hootsuite’s London workspace – which prior to the refurbishment had 126 assigned desks in the space – now features 80 unassigned desks. These are all bookable in advance via the Robin app, which is also used to manage Hootsuite meeting room bookings.

“Our focus was to collaborate with the Hootsuite team on the redesign of their space to move away from an uninspiring sea of desks,” adds Matt Watts, Chief Commercial Officer at LABS.

“The result is a fun, intuitive and innovative environment that meets Hootsuite’s needs, while also suiting the demands of the modern worker. Listening to our client’s needs is an essential part of our business, so that we can use our expertise to turn their aspirations into a reality.”

The new interior also includes additional collaborative and informal soft-seating areas, 16 sit-stand desks, two under-desk treadmills and under-desk bikes. There is also a dedicated wellness room, biophilia across the whole space, art and whiteboards in most meeting rooms, a dedicated quiet Focus Zone complete with an acoustic screen, and day-use lockers.

Furthermore, all of the existing furniture was repurposed and reused, with all of the excess IT equipment being donated to charity via Green Standards to a school in Ghana, Africa.

“The additional collaborative areas have already received huge amounts of positive feedback, and our Owls have also responded well to the added biophilia,” explains Chapman. “It’s a well-known fact that being in close proximity to nature can have huge benefits on one’s mental health, so the addition of plants into the workspace was a very strategic design decision.”

“Hootsuite was one of our first clients at LABS 90 High Holborn, whose move-in coincided with the opening of the building. We’re delighted that they’ve chosen to extend their lease term, and we thoroughly enjoyed working with them to reimagine their office for the next phase of their business, which will respond to the rapidly-changing world of work,” adds Watts.

“The re-imagining of the London office follows Hootsuite’s Vancouver HQ redesign. Looking ahead, Hootsuite is examining each of its workspaces to see how it can make changes to ensure they are more inclusive and prioritise employee wellness. Collaborative areas, wellness rooms, the Robin app and added biophilia are just some of the features that are planned for other Hootsuite workspaces.”

Images courtesy of Hootsuite

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