News UK

The Space

Today, News UK occupies 430,000sq ft of a 17-storey building formerly known as ‘The Place’. The building, now freshly rebranded as ‘The News Building’ sit in the busy London Bridge Quarter – informally referred to as ‘The Baby Shard’.

Planning and preparations

Firstly, ISG Plc were named main contractors for this £50 million fit out programme. Consequently, we were selected to design, engineer and install all glass partitioning, screens and doors from floors 6-17. In short, the project had a tight deadline and had to be delivered in 12 months from concept to completion. Subsequently, efficiency and accuracy would be key.

Secondly, Perkins + Will, the designated architects, envisioned a building which united all of News UK’s businesses under one roof. Therefore, creating a world-class destination for staff and customers. However, in order to achieve this, an open plan design, complete with versatile space with great visibility would be needed.

Perkins + Will’s design brief challenged static work practices. This was achieved by encouraging internal mobility and collaboration via transparency and interaction between businesses. At the same time, the individuality of the different brands needed to be celebrated.

As a result, glass was central to the functionality of the building. By allowing natural light to flood the space and promote employee wellbeing.

The project

We were a perfect fit for the job and were commissioned to install all glass fixtures. For instance, sliding glass doors, magnetic glass panelling and our market leading high acoustic double-glazed doors were installed.

Furthermore, our glazed partitions were also used to create offices, meeting rooms and client hosting areas. This naturally brought to life Perkins + Will’s design, allowing natural light to flow into the collaborative working environment.

The use of applied manifestation allows the different brands throughout the building to differentiate themselves and celebrate their own unique and highly successful stories.

The installation was completed to the highest level of accuracy, finished to the most precise level of sound control. This outstanding acoustic performance meant that both privacy and openness could become part of everyday working life for News UK.

The Result

Being in one of the most iconic buildings in the capital, the interior had to be just as impressive as the exterior and News UK certainly has a very impressive office space. Our installation and design team has truly exceeded the brief, installing glazed partitioning systems that are not only functional and high performing, but aesthetically stunning too.

The design intent was to create a flexible, open plan workspace that encourages collaboration, communication and movement of staff.

Working with us

We are extremely proud to have worked in such an iconic building with such a powerful brand and we are delighted to have been awarded a 10/10 Quality Award by ISG for our installation.

Stephen Atkins, Project Manager at ISG, when reflecting on the project from a delivery and efficiency perspective, explained that the project was “very well managed by Optima from start to finish and required minimal input from ISG’s site management team in order to maintain the programme and achieve suitable quality.”

All in all, we feel that this was a project where we truly excelled both from a product and service perspective.

The completion of the project saw News UK occupy ‘The News Building,’ 1 London Bridge Quarter, following an official opening by the Mayor of London at the time, Boris Johnson.