25 Years of Area: Our Journey So Far

In 1999, three founders – Clive Lucking, Nigel Hudson and James Cornwell – came together with a shared ambition: to create workplaces that inspire and deliver real impact for the people who use them. The following year, in 2000, that vision became reality with the launch of Area.

Twenty-five years later, we’re taking a moment to look back at the milestones, projects, and stories that have shaped us. From our very first win in Chertsey to multi-million-pound landmark builds across Europe, from rooftop parties to charity challenges, and from three people in one small office to a team delivering work on an international scale – every moment has played a part in making us who we are today.

The year 2000 brought our first project win – Great Plains Software in Chertsey – and before long we were celebrating our first million-pound project with T Motion (T Mobile) in Hammersmith. By 2002, we had landed our first £2M job with Galileo UK in Slough – coincidentally on the same day Oasis played Finsbury Park.

Those early years were full of milestones: our first £5M+ project at Gatwick Airport, our first £10M+ with HPE in Reading, and a landmark project for Motability – split across Bristol and London – which kept us on site for three years. The Bristol campus project went on to secure our first BCO Awards for Office of the Year.

Our portfolio became increasingly ambitious. We worked with easyJet on their HQ in Luton, delivered landmark spaces at Battersea Power Station, and in 2015, completed our the 12-storey, 127,000 sq ft Telecom Plus HQ (Utility Warehouse) at Merit House in London.

Internationally, our first project outside the UK was with Bic in Ireland in 2001. In 2009, we delivered our first project in mainland Europe – supporting HP in Belgium, a client we’re proud to still work closely with today. Since then, projects have taken us across multiple countries, leading to the launch of Area Europe in 2020. The launch marked a new chapter in our global reach, paving the way for our recent expansion into the Middle East.

View our full Project Portfolio here

A major turning point came with the establishment of the Fourfront Group – bringing together brands including Sketch Studios, 360 Workplace, and Area. This gave us greater reach and the ability to offer a more integrated approach to workplace design, strategy, and delivery – ultimately providing a better service for our clients.

At the same time, we set out a clear ethos that continues to guide us today. Our ESG practices are built on four pillars – People, Planet, Prosperity, and Principles – shaping the way we work and the choices we make. We are passionate about space and people; this is what we do best. Design remains in our DNA, still driving us forward and keeping creativity at the heart of every project.

We’ve also expanded into new sectors, including the fast-growing world of Life Sciences with the establishment of our Area Laboratories team – diversifying our expertise and impact. Alongside this, we’ve built a dedicated Landlord Division, supporting developers in creating high-performing, flexible spaces that meet the needs of modern occupiers.

A lot has changed since those early days. We’ve gone from wearing suits and ties to jeans and trainers, from rigid hours to more flexibility – and from gathering at the water cooler to grabbing barista-style coffee. We’ve adapted to changes in leadership, embraced new technology, and found better ways to work together. The COVID years tested that flexibility like never before, yet the projects kept moving, and our team stayed connected.

Over 25 years, some numbers tell their own story: over 1,150 people have been part of the journey, together generating over £1.8 billion in turnover.

Alongside that, we’ve built a culture that’s as important as the spaces we design. Initiatives like our Learning & Development Programme, Project Positive and our NextGen Network have helped us invest in people, in sustainability, and in the future leaders of our business.

Some of our fondest memories have been made outside the office. Over the years, we’ve travelled together from St Petersburg and Lisbon to Marbella and Estepona. There was also the infamous Provence trip – remembered by many for being as chaotic as it was fun.

We’ve celebrated the wins with weekends away and group kick-offs – and when it’s mattered most, we’ve come together to raise money and awareness for causes close to our hearts. More recently, we held our first NextGen vs ExGen Sports Day – a light-hearted but fiercely competitive event that we now plan to make an annual tradition.

Since 2010, we’ve supported Shooting Star Children’s Hospices, taking on challenges from the London-to-Paris cycle, the Three Peaks, and even a parachute jump. We’ve also organised office-to-office walks, charity triathlons, and countless other events – together raising over £650,000 to support the vital work they do.

We’ve been recognised for our efforts at the highest levels – personally thanked by Samantha Cameron at No. 10 Downing Street in 2014 and invited to Buckingham Palace in 2018 for our fundraising achievements. More recently, our Walk for Katie in 2024 brought the team together for another cause close to our hearts.

This year, to celebrate our 25th anniversary, we’ve launched our 25 Moments that Matter campaign – 25 ways of giving back to charities and causes that matter to our people and our communities.

Over the years, we’ve been proud to earn recognition not just for the projects we deliver, but for the way we work and the values we uphold.

• Winners of Business Reporter’s Best of British Business Award (2025)

• Named one of the Sunday Times Best Places to Work (2024)

• Reached Carbon Neutral status (2024)

• Featured in the Top 50 Inspiring Workplaces (2024)

• Certified B Corp (2023)

• Winners of Vitality’s Britain’s Healthiest Workplace (2023)

We’ve been recognised at the Mixology Awards, the Thames Valley Property Awards, and on the international stage at the International Property Awards and World Design Awards. Most recently, we celebrated wins in two categories at the 2025 Office of the Year Awards in Budapest.

Sustainability has been a long-term commitment. Back in 2011 we implemented a robust environmental management system that resulted in Area becoming one of the first companies in our industry to be officially ISO14001 certified – a commitment that continues to guide us today.