Area Celebrates Triple Recognition at the Studio Alliance Awards 2026

Area is proud to have been recognised in three categories at the Studio Alliance Awards 2026, winning the ‘Do What is Right’ Award for our Project Positive initiative and receiving Highly Commended recognition in both the ‘Celebrate Uniqueness’ and ‘Unleash Our Collective Wisdom’ categories.

These achievements celebrate our ongoing commitment to environmental and social responsibility, creating an inclusive workplace culture and delivering successful projects through collaboration.

Winner: Do What is Right – Project Positive

Our Project Positive initiative was awarded the ‘Do What is Right’ Award, recognising our approach to embedding environmental and social responsibility into every project we deliver.

Project Positive brings together carbon reduction, circular design, verified climate action and community support, helping us work alongside clients and project partners to create a positive impact that extends beyond the workplace itself.

At the outset of each project, we undertake a whole-life carbon assessment to establish a baseline and identify opportunities to reduce environmental impact. This informs decisions around material selection, reuse and repurposing, with a focus on reducing embodied carbon and designing workplaces for longevity, flexibility and future reuse.

Through our partnership with Ecologi, we also invest in verified climate action to address residual emissions that cannot yet be eliminated.

Our Area x Ecologi partnership has funded climate projects representing 10,149 tonnes of CO₂e avoidance and 107 tonnes of carbon removal, while our Scope 1 and 2 emissions have fallen by approximately 40% against our 2018 baseline.

Creating positive impact beyond the workplace

Equally important is the social value we create through our projects.

Working with our clients and supply-chain partners, Project Positive supports local initiatives that respond to the needs of the communities surrounding our sites.

Recent examples include:

• F5, Addlestone: Working with our client F5, we supported the Mini Medics programme, providing first-aid training to approximately 120 primary school pupils.
• Brydell Partners, Oxford: Through our partnership with Homeless Oxfordshire, we donated clothing, toiletries and essential food supplies to support people experiencing homelessness.
• Campus Reading: Alongside Alchemy Asset Management and our supply-chain partners, we supported local food banks, providing essential supplies to communities across Reading.

These initiatives demonstrate how we can use our projects to create practical benefits for local communities, while bringing clients and partners together around shared objectives.

As a Certified B Corporation, we recognise that environmental and social responsibility must be embedded in our business practices, rather than treated as an additional consideration.

Winning this award is an important recognition of the progress we are making and our commitment to continuing to improve.

Learn more about Project Positive and our approach to sustainability and social impact.

Highly Commended: Celebrate Uniqueness – Stronger Together

We were also delighted to receive Highly Commended recognition in the ‘Celebrate Uniqueness’ category for our Stronger Together: Creating a Culture of Belonging and Respect initiative.

Across Area and the wider Fourfront Group, we recognise the importance of creating an environment where people feel valued, respected and able to contribute.

Our approach combines structured learning and development with shared experiences that bring colleagues together across different teams, roles and backgrounds.

During 2025, we delivered refreshed Belonging and Respect workshops, achieving 91% attendance from employees and stakeholders. These sessions explored unconscious bias, cultural differences, inclusive communication, allyship and the everyday behaviours that shape workplace culture.

Importantly, employee feedback continues to inform how we develop our workplace practices. This has included introducing dedicated accommodation rooms to support different individual needs, alongside confidential channels that give colleagues more choice in how they raise concerns or seek support.

Alongside formal training, initiatives such as our NextGen programme, charitable activities and group events help build relationships and strengthen connections across the business.

This recognition reflects our belief that an inclusive culture is built through listening, learning and taking meaningful action.

Read more about our commitment to building a culture of belonging and respect.

Highly Commended: Unleash Our Collective Wisdom – Suntory

Our third recognition came in the ‘Unleash Our Collective Wisdom’ category, where our work with Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I received Highly Commended recognition.

The project brought together Area's design and delivery expertise, 360 Workplace's change-management specialists and Suntory's own teams to create a new headquarters that reflected the organisation's identity, culture and evolving ways of working.

Located at ARC Uxbridge, the 27,000 sq ft workplace spans two floors and brings together office, collaboration and specialist product-development environments.

Collaboration was central to the project's success. Suntory's stakeholders helped shape the design through their understanding of business operations, Japanese heritage and the identities of brands including Lucozade and Ribena.

Area translated this insight into the physical environment, while 360 Workplace supported employees through the transition to hybrid and activity-based working.

Through stakeholder engagement, collaborative design development, training and regular communication, the project connected workplace design with employee experience and organisational change.

The resulting headquarters includes a mix of collaborative and focused working environments, brand-led spaces and The Oasis, a flexible social and event hub designed to bring people together.

This recognition celebrates the value of drawing on different perspectives and expertise to create workplaces that respond to both the practical and cultural needs of the people using them.

Explore the Suntory workplace case study.

Celebrating Our People and Partnerships

Receiving recognition across three categories is a reflection of the people, projects and partnerships that make Area what it is.

From embedding sustainability and social value into our projects to creating an inclusive culture and delivering workplaces through collaboration, these achievements demonstrate our commitment to doing business responsibly.

We would like to thank our colleagues, clients and project partners who have contributed to these initiatives, and Studio Alliance for recognising our work.

We look forward to continuing to build on this progress and making a positive impact through the workplaces we create!