IMS Health
Client
IMS HEALTH pharmaceutical intelligence provides both information and consulting services to the healthcare market. They were founded in 1954 in the USA, and have been a market leader for over 55 years, now operating in over 100 countries worldwide.
Challenge
IMS were moving to a new location in order to improve production efficiency and enhance staff performance. They hoped to improve their corporate image in compliance with company policies. One of the areas they wanted to focus on was creating a new way of working in teams, though a brand new open space configuration.
Sustainable and economical considerations suggested the reuse of existing walls and renovation of the new headquarter buildings with partial reuse of furniture moved from the previous offices.
Scope
The office space covers over 4,000m2 over 3 different floors, housing around 160 individual workstations, 30 closed offices, 20 meeting rooms and 3 breakout areas. There is, of course, a reception area and an impressive convention and conference hall which holds up to 70 people.
The CEO and his secretary have an executive office in a 210m2 tower, which is also where the HR department resides.
Partners
Space Planning: D2U Studio
Story
Haworth acted as a contractor for the supply and implementation of fit out works. This included the removal of existing flooring; the installation and carpeting of new flooring; plumbing; painting; the restoration of ceilings; wood and masonry construction and the design and implementation of a new reception. Haworth re-used as much glass as possible from the existing partitioning walls and optimised the employment of reused material in the new Esedra3 frames.
Haworth commissioned D2U Studio to design the layout for the project, which met the client needs and lived up to their expectations. A change in carpet tone is used to demarcate the space, with dark grey defining corridor space, and light grey marking out the office areas. The physical wall structure was created from Esedra3, Haworth’s glass wall partitioning range. The combination of glass and light oak made these walls both discreet and unobtrusive as they enclose meeting areas and executive offices.
The biggest challenge for IMS was the evolution to a more open plan solution, yet this has yielded excellent results and received positive feedback. The staff have proactively changed the way they speak to bring background noise down to a minimum.
The layout has undoubtedly contributed to better levels of light throughout the space, making it brighter and more pleasing for the employees. This could be considered the highlight of this project, and that which really makes it stand out.