GLAS

Our brief covered the full workplace experience, from an intimate reception and client meeting suite to open-plan neighbourhoods, private offices, focus rooms, hot desks, collaboration areas, a wellness room and a central social hub. Technology was integrated into key meeting spaces to support GLAS’s global teams and client-facing work.

The concept, Connection & Direction, grew directly from GLAS’s values. Connection reflects its people-first culture and the relationships between colleagues, clients and international teams. Direction captures the organisation’s momentum, ambition and drive to keep evolving.

We translated those ideas into the architecture of the space. Curved forms, layered materials and overlapping textures create warmth and connection. Angled timber elements and linear details introduce movement, echoing the geometry of the GLAS logo without turning the workplace into a branded showroom.

GLAS’s vivid digital palette was reworked for the physical environment. A neutral foundation, tactile materials and warm lighting create a calm setting, with controlled accents of brand colour adding energy where it matters. The result feels recognisably GLAS, but grown-up, balanced and built to last.

Reception is deliberately intimate rather than oversized. A lowered desk, soft waiting area and layered glass feature wall create a welcoming first impression while drawing daylight deeper into the arrival space.

Beyond reception, the client suite combines a boardroom, meeting rooms and a flexible room divided by a folding wall. The arrangement can shift between everyday meetings and larger sessions, while integrated AV supports seamless hybrid collaboration. Discreet hospitality and storage keep the space working hard without interrupting the experience.

Careful circulation separates client and staff movement. The breakout area can be reached directly from the open-plan office as well as from front of house, avoiding the noise and disruption that GLAS had experienced in its previous workplace.

The central breakout is the point where GLAS’s close-knit culture becomes visible. Designed with the feel of a coffee shop rather than a conventional office kitchen, it supports lunch, informal meetings, touchdown work and spontaneous conversations throughout the day.

A soft illuminated ceiling feature gives the space its own identity, while an abstract world map reflects GLAS’s international reach. Existing booths were reupholstered and reused, keeping familiar elements while giving them a new life within the scheme.

The breakout also connects to the terraces, creating a natural extension of the social space and giving people the option to step outside, work in fresh air or take a break away from the desk.

Across the floor, Area used an activity-based approach to give people more control over how and where they work. Open-plan neighbourhoods sit alongside hot desks, collaboration settings, phone booths, focus spaces, meeting rooms and private offices.

Accessibility was treated as a core design principle. Main circulation routes were made generous, and lower-height sections were included at reception and tea points. An accessible work booth, step-free routes and ramps to the terrace help make the full workplace usable by more people.

These decisions sit naturally within the wider design. They do not feel added on; they are part of how the office works, supporting independence, dignity and choice for employees and visitors.

Reuse also played an important role. Existing furniture was retained, reupholstered or repurposed wherever it made sense, reducing waste and giving the final workplace a stronger sense of continuity.