Access Group – An impressive new HQ that nurtures culture

Access Group
Location
Loughborough
Size
109,000 sq ft
Services Involved
Strategy & Design
Design and Build
Furnishing
Activity Based Working

Culture at the core

Access Group, one of the UK’s fastest-growing technology companies, wanted to provide the best working environment to their staff in the Midlands and beyond, and create a flagship office as a central hub for all UK employees. Providing people with the social spaces and technology so they can connect with the brand, colleagues and customers.

To understand their needs and culture better, we ran workshops and discovery session and we found that their people wanted a new office base that would foster a sense of pride and connection to the wider organization.

Access Group’s new flagship office, spread across four floors in Loughborough’s University Science and Enterprise Park, needed to celebrate their brand and values, bringing employees and customers together in an efficient and connective working space, and allow for the growth Access is experiencing, and planning in the future.

Enabling people to do their best work

As software and services providers, the nature of Access Group’s work means they need an office environment to interact with their customers and do their jobs highly effectively. We designed their office pre-pandemic to support all of this, based on the principles most organisations are looking at today, and so the pandemic didn’t impact the design of the space.

The purpose of the environment is to enable teams to grow, develop, connect and do their best work. It provides people with the tools and spaces they need to collaborate and innovate, supporting tasks that the home environment can’t.

"You can’t design culture – culture comes from the people within your organisation. But you can use office design to nurture culture, creating spaces that support work activities and brand values."

Grant Dean, Lead designer at TSK

Designing a future-proof office

Access Group’s new office base celebrates the uniqueness of the organisation. It provides a welcoming atmosphere with a stunning full-height atrium and huge open workspaces.

Each work setting is designed to support different tasks and activities – with connection at their core. There are team breakout spaces on every floor, collaboration pods and tech-enabled meeting rooms. The state-of-the-art Customer Experience Centre on the ground floor encourages engagement and collaboration with customers and provides a unique hub for events with multiple internal and external audiences.

The new environment is agile and adaptable. The use of modular furniture means spaces are multifunctional and can be used for a range of purposes. Technology is built into every area to empower people to connect across multiple locations.

Mike Audis, Access Group COO said: “Our new building isn’t just an office, it’s a place where anyone at Access will feel at home, somewhere to inspire them to do their best work, a place where they meet their colleagues and customers and support our ambitious growth plans from a place that energises them.

“TSK supported all our ambitions, and gave us so much more than a design – they’ve helped us create a whole new way of organising our teams and working processes, as well as great new sociable spaces on every floor. We’re absolutely delighted with the design and we can’t wait to see it fully occupied, and the creativity that it will influence.”

Bringing people back together

Access Group’s new workplace isn’t just an ‘office’ where people go to work. It’s a place that nurtures culture and brings people together. The spacious roof terrace is designed to accommodate internal functions, events and celebrations – it even comes with an in-house chef! This gives employees an opportunity to socialise, relax, and take in the impressive 360-degree views of the beautiful Leicestershire countryside.

Find out more

We design everything with our clients’ end-users in mind because we believe it creates better customer and employee experiences.

See how workplace design has changed or contact us today to find out how we can support you here.