To the moon and back

Where banking meets tech

The initial brief was for corporate cool, with a bank meets Google vibe. We wanted to retain their distinctive team culture, while also allowing for the space to be polished enough for clients and investors alike. It had to embody their values of togetherness, creativity and pushing boundaries.

The new space is a living embodiment of R3’s brand, with their eye-catching red providing a colour pop on surfaces throughout the fit out. We made sure there’s a distinctively vibrant streak through the colours, textures and chosen fabrics.

Dynamically open plan

Each floor is set around an expansive open plan working space, allowing colleagues to freely move about and collaborate. Glass partitions are used on most of the meeting room walls to keep a line of sight. This also lets natural light flow through the floor-to-ceiling windows, into the centre of the floor.

Acoustically sound

With an open plan workplace, noise needed to be carefully considered. We took a slab to slab approach with all partitioning and glazing, allowing us to remove any voids, joints or junctions to minimise noise transfer. Double glazing was also used to help reduce noise, whilst allowing light to flow freely across the floor.

To the moon and back

But what about when you need to get away from it all? That why we designed unbookable breakout rooms on each floor, each with their own distinct them. These provide spaces for colleagues to get away from it all; whether it be for a morning post-commute de-stress, or a gaming session with teammates.

With red writable walls, a six foot rocket and a games console integrated into a mission control panel, this is anything but your normal breakout space.

The Oasis is the perfect spot to get away from it all; featuring palm print wallpaper, a built-in leather bench and grass-green carpet. The floor-to-ceiling windows frame the gardens adjacent at the Barbican.

The gentleman’s library draws inspiration from turn-of-the-century explorers. Featuring a fully stocked library, an original oil painting depicting R3’s founders, and a digital fireplace, the space is full of hidden details.

Let's get together

For a business with such a close-knit culture, making the most of times when they can come together was always going to be a priority. That’s why we dedicated a large section of the fit out to a giant kitchen-style breakout space.

With a core purpose of nutrient refills, the kitchen also has integrated AV to allow for R3 to connect with their colleagues in New York for virtual company-wide town hall meetings; creating a sense of community despite the ocean between offices.

The kitchen is large enough to house breakout areas on its periphery; ensuring there’s always a space for colleagues to either work or wind down away from their workstations. To encourage collaboration and remove any ‘power seat’ or hierarchy from meetings, most meeting tables are circular.

Find your focus

People enjoy working in different ways and places, so that’s why any good fit out needs to provide flexible spaces that empower staff with a choice of where and how they work.

R3’s fit out was designed with no less than 25 focus pods; providing the perfect getaway for staff that need some time to think quietly and purely focus on their task at hand.