Flanagan Lawrence’s offices are located in a former Great Western Railway printing works at 66 Porchester Road, adjacent to Royal Oak tube station in West London. Our refurbishment of this late 19th-century building allowed us to bring together three separate offices in one location.

A key driver was the need to ensure direct communication between teams, and to achieve this we created a central atrium by cutting through the centre of the deep plan office floor space, providing direct visual links between all floors. This atrium design also works well for daylight strategy, allowing ample daylight penetration well into the floor plan. Revealing the original high floor-to-ceiling space also maximises the spread of light from the windows.

Seeking to create an energy-efficient environment, we have incorporated low energy systems and harnessed passive measures. A high volume 100% fresh air displacement ventilation system ensures thermal control of the office space. The system uses full free cooling (economizer cycle) allowing for up to 75% of annual daytime hours to be supplied without the need for cooling. Heat recovery within the air plant helps to minimize heat input during colder periods of the year.

A low-energy, low-glare lighting system was designed to blend perfectly with daylight. By up-lighting the soffits we have ensured even light distribution across the entire floor plate. To minimise the use of artificial lighting all areas have PIR automatic sensor controls, and light fittings around the perimeter have daylight sensors to moderate illumination levels.

Our office space is comfortable, airy and well lit, and has been designed for maximum use of passive environmental control at the lowest practicable levels of energy consumption.