The best of British office design

Whether it’s embracing heritage or paying homage to the local area, showcasing the best of British is a versatile way to add some flair to your fit out.

The red telephone box

For millions of tourists who flock to Britain each year, the trip is not complete without a selfie in a red telephone box. Since their arrival on British streets in the 1920s, the Royal Mail telephone box has become an internationally-renowned part of the British landscape, despite their decline in recent years. So what better way to keep this part of history alive than in your office design? You could take the abstract approach, like Nuffield Health, with black and white photography augmented with red acoustic booths, or the realistic approach like Costa Coffee, and feature an entire phone booth in your breakout space!

British motoring

Thankfully nobody had to “blow the b****y doors off” to get this iconic Mini into the reception at Rackspace! This international IT firm wanted to embrace the Britishness of their UK office, and this iconic British car certainly got their engines revving! For those who prefer to live in the fast lane, various nods to the British Grand Prix Formula 1 have been featured in artwork at Autodesk.

The great British countryside

Studies show that we react positively to being surrounded by natural materials, so reflecting nature in your design is a great way to feature some beautiful landscapes and boost wellbeing!

If you’ve got great views like Anomaly, you can design floor-to-ceiling windows that look directly onto surrounding green space. For something more striking, you could install a huge timber tree as a centrepiece in your office, like Morgan Sindall Group.

Anomoly creative office design with views of St Paul's

London landmarks

From Big Ben to the London Eye and 10 Downing Street, London landmarks are recognised around the world. In the absence of a real skyline view, a silhouette on the wall makes a great patriotic alternative, like this one here at Herbalife. For Rackspace, a meeting at Number 10 Downing Street, is the ultimate London experience!

British trains

Britain has a rich locomotive history, including a host of firsts; from the first steam train in Wales, to the first electric locomotive in Scotland and of course, the world’s first underground metro in London. To celebrate the iconic trains of Britain, Rackspace features this London tube train on their meeting room walls, whilst Splunk has its own Orient-Express-inspired Pullman carriage which is used as a meeting room. We’re sure these workspaces keep them ‘on-track’ and working ‘full-steam-ahead’!

British arts & culture

Britain is renowned for its arts scene, so as office designers, it’s easy to be inspired by British style and culture. We’ve featured everything from iconic Chesterfield sofas, through to Banksy-style artwork at Splunk – celebrating the best of British design. At Rackspace, British explorers like Captain James Cook and Mary Kingsley are celebrated on the meeting room walls through floor-to-ceiling stylised transfers.