Forward Partners are an investment agency and incubator for e-commerce start-ups. They recently moved out of their offices in Camden and into a brand new space in Shoreditch and required a complete fit-out of a large, empty,industrial looking space. All aspects of the office were designed and bespoke made by us, with the exception of the desks, which were brought from their previous office space and integrated into the scheme.

We built three meeting room spaces, all clad in beautiful, UK grown, Douglas Fir timber. These were finished in a subtle graduated white stain to add individuality and flow to the design.

Inside each meeting room is the all important meeting room table, each one designed to fit the space and meet the exact requirements of the FP team. In the larger two meeting rooms, boardroom tables were hand-built by local craftsmen in oiled, solid oak with oversize steel joins in raw mild steel with a clear powder coat finish. The steel elements were made from sections of heavy duty ‘I’ beam by a local steel fabricator who usually manufactures huge joists for structural engineering projects. We think they did a great job scaling down to make these neat pieces for the table joins. The tables all have a contrasting, high-quality white laminate tops to help bounce light around the room and give a feeling of space. Boardroom tables feature hidden cable management and sockets

Part of the brief for the office was that an open, friendly and sociable feel should to be achieved, in line with FP company culture but it was also vital that some spaces had the ability to be made private for important meetings. With this in mind we incorporated switching glass in the meeting rooms, allowing glass panes to change from transparent to opaque with the flick of a switch.

Wool upholstered benches form break-out areas and perch desks between meeting rooms create plenty of places for workers to chill, chat and meet informally. Coat racks made from big, glossy red, industrial lifting hooks add hits of colour and contrast nicely with pale concrete surfaces.

For a more open and relaxed seating area we designed elegant Cedar clad benches with raw, uncoated mild steel edging. The uncoated steel will patinate over time, allowing the furniture to grow and change alongside it’s users.