CASE STUDY | EDINBURGH OFFICE FIT-OUT Fit for purpose Pinsent Masons people-centric approach to its workplace environment meant aiming for Well certification at the fit-out of its new Edinburgh office. Andy Pearson finds out how the ventilation system was upgraded to turn a good building into an ultra-healthy one P ost pandemic, multinational professional services firm Pinsent Masons wanted its new 2,300m2 Edinburgh office to encourage its employees to return to the office. The business was planning to relocate from its existing premises to the newly developed Capital Square, so it took advantage of the move to create a new flexible office environment to support hybrid, agile working and to promote staff wellbeing. Designed and Well certified by engineers Cundall, working with architects Form Design, the firms new office has less focus on formal workstations and more spaces to encourage social interaction, collaboration and meetings, including a caf and social hub designed for multifunctional use. To accommodate peoples different working styles and needs, the new office also includes small meeting rooms and even individual work pods to enable more focused work. According to Luke Richards, Pinsent Masons head of facilities UK&I, the decision to target Well certification for this office was made pre-pandemic in late 2018. Our approach to workplace design was always people-centric; this was an opportunity to see how we could up the ante and deliver a workplace that enhances wellbeing and productivity, he says. The decision proved to be long-sighted. Although it was important at the beginning for us to deliver a workplace with a true focus on health and wellness, it became even more vital for the post-pandemic world, he adds. Home to 200-plus lawyers and operations staff, the new offices are located over two floors of the Capital Square building in the centre of Edinburgh. Recently constructed, the building had a shell and core fit-out achieving BREEAM Excellent and an A rating EPC. The good thing about this building was that it was brand new, completed in May 2020, and it was built to a high standard so it already had a lot of amenities that align with Well criteria for example cycle racks and good-quality glazing to allow daylight onto the floor plates, says Kavita Kumari, associate director at Cundall and a Well Accredited Professional. She says Well Gold was a pragmatic target for the fit-out. Cundall was appointed to the project as MEP engineers with responsibility for Well certification at RIBA Stage 2, before detailed design had started. The architect had established the interior layout so Cundall worked with the project team to implement Well criteria. We sat down with the design 54 September 2022 www.cibsejournal.com CIBSE Sept 22 pp54-55 Pinsett Mason healthy office Supp.indd 54 26/08/2022 13:51