Ian helped The British Council Estates team develop their London accommodation strategy, which led to the relinquishment of their lease on the 20,000 sq. ft offices in Portland Place and the phased refurbishment & reorganisation of the 78,000 sq. ft HQ at Spring Gardens, Sw1. 

Security has become an increasingly important issue for the British Council, both at home and overseas. 

Ian was asked to redesign the Spring Gardens reception & hospitality area. We worked with the In house team as well as specialist security advisors to incorporate various enhanced security measures. Creating an outer ‘air lock’ lobby and an inner welcome and waiting area.

The inner reception area is often used for hosting events and exhibitions. So our scheme incorporated a programmable lighting system that enables the ambience to be transformed to suite the different requirements for each event.

“Our HQ reception design was particularly important as it had to incorporate a number of enhanced security measures, whilst maintaining a pleasant environment for both staff and visitors, and creating somewhere flexible enough for us to host some prestigious events. A post project 3rd party review commented that they were amazed that the project was delivered in the timescale and that typically other Government dept’s would have taken 3 times as long. I have no doubt that Ian contributed to making this happen.”

Neil Prescott. Project Manager, British Council, Global Estates.