With Net Zero at the heart, Arup’s blueprint for workplace design is driving a paradigm shift where ethics meets good business.

Arup has been revolutionising what’s possible in design and engineering for the last 75 years, so it’s no surprise that when sustainability is mentioned, Arup has its sights set on becoming a benchmark for climate resilience.

Built on the principal of the consultancy’s founder, Sir Ove Arup, that – ‘work is only valuable when it has something higher to strive for’ – 80 Charlotte Street is no stranger to pushing boundaries to go above and beyond what’s expected of the London office market. Partnering with ISG to create Arup’s planet-conscious , all-electric office.

Delivering a project of this magnitude during one of the most uncertain times in modern history – the COVID-19 pandemic – saw both businesses take on shared risk to deliver the space.

Speaking recently at ISG’s The power of place event, Director for Net Zero Carbon Infrastructure at Arup, Tim Chapman, expressed why both business chose to take this risk in an unprecedented period of limbo: “Cities are here to stay and what makes cities strong and vibrant is the people. As a global business that’s committed to its communities, we owed it to our people to create something that would encourage them to return to a physical space and support the growth of a vibrant society again.”

Ripping up the rule book on traditional business partnering, Arup’s integrated partnership with ISG changes the adversarial lines of ‘them and us’. Instead building a relationship on mutual trust, centralised values as a project driver, and the belief that a more humane approach to contractual agreements will result in a more successful partnership than that of a financially incentivised one.

Celebrating this unique contractual approach, Senior Project Manager at ISG, John Penny, says : “Arup and ISG working together was always going to be an exciting and rewarding experience. We both share the same values and care deeply about the footprints that we leave behind; working in total, equal partnership with a mutual passion to create a legacy in our industry for future generations.”

But it’s not just Arup’s partnership with ISG that’s challenging the norms of the London office fit out market, the same can be said for the Net Zero design. With a 38% reduction in embodied carbon intensity than the average benchmark for a London office building. 80 Charlotte Street is leading the way for a more sustainable skyline in the country’s capital.

Tim comments: “What we’ve tried to do here is create a new blueprint for sustainable office design that can be replicated across our global estates, and this is a huge step in the Net Zero journey for both ourselves and for the London skyline more widely.”

Driven by the circular economy principles of both Arup and ISG, 80 Charlotte Street’s supplies were as environmentally-friendly as possible. From the sustainably sourced risers and soffits, and the repurposed wood taking shape in the building’s grand atrium staircase, to the Bluetooth based emergency and control system - the building’s design enhances its climate resilience.

For Arup, it’s all about making the right choice, not the easy choice. And thanks to some clever investments and ethical prioritising, for which Tim describes as “partially ethical, it’s partially just good business”, the space now operates as a sustainable powerhouse.

But while Arup’s journey to Net Zero holds the key to the design of its global estates and infrastructure development with its clients, it’s the way 80 Charlotte Street supports and develops its Arupians that truly sits paramount at the heart of the delivery.

Aligned with Arup’s commitments to create a world of opportunity that coaches, connects and drives creativity in its people, the format and layout of the consultancy’s headquarters is what brings its people back and keeps Arupians staying longer than that of its competitors’ workforce.

Tim comments: “When the pandemic hit that was actually a huge opportunity for us. We realised we had to do something different and actually the least risky thing to do was be radical, so we took the opportunity to create the first new post-pandemic hybrid working office that centred around the changing needs of our employees.”

Delivering a modern, post-pandemic space, the design and amenities of the 80 Charlotte Street office encapsulates the essence of hybridity and togetherness.

Looking at the findings of ISG’s ‘The power of place’ research and insight report, ISG’s Divisional Director, Steve Makris, adds: “We know from the results of our research that firms who invested in hybrid working during the pandemic saw a marked increase in revenue, productivity, and employee satisfaction as a result. And Arup has been exemplar in considering the needs of its employees at every level of decision making, fully equipping the space to suit all styles of working.”

Designing a collaborative space that mirrors the work of the completely interconnected team delivering it, the new layout features lots of open-plan spaces for working and socialising. Introducing larger work stations and meeting rooms, to help to drive creativity and support opportunities for learning and team-based exercises. While also welcoming smaller work pods and quieter areas for independent working, to help enhance concentration levels and support more autonomous workspace needs.

Tim comments on the collaborative design: “In order to respect every single individual, we made sure that the office’s design would enable people who are introverted to want to come to the office, and more extroverted characters to have a place to enjoy connecting with others.”

Reimagining Arup’s environment to better optimise health and wellbeing, smart technology enhancements were installed to help monitor the impact of the environment on employees’ health, and the publicly accessible pocket park and roof terraces have allowed for more natural light, fresh air and nature to enhance employee wellbeing.

While Arup’s commitment to creating a better tomorrow for its people and planet starts at home, the consultancy is on a mission to guide everyone to follow suit. Shaping sustainable infrastructure for its clients around the globe and helping the brand’s trusted partners to follow the Arup blueprint in their own workspaces.

Tim says: “We’ve started at home so that we can learn from our lessons and support others. And, until we’re comfortable in the knowledge that we’ve reinvested as much of our understanding of and skillset in sustainable infrastructure and human-centric design into the wider community as we possibly can, we’ll continue on our mission.”