The new office spans 1,055 SqM across a split-level ground floor in an open-plan arrangement. Above the office, two buildings rise to the fifth and fourth floors, comprising 30 and 16 one- and two-bedroom apartments, respectively. The larger building is designated for shared ownership, while the smaller offers general needs rent for independent retirement living.

The office brief includes a single space serving five key departments, group meeting rooms, individual offices, server rooms, and a series of breakout spaces with associated kitchen facilities. The exterior of the new offices is designed to express B3Living’s presence, providing glimpses of office activities. The primary focus, however, is a welcoming reception area that serves both business and resident visitors, including dedicated resident meeting rooms.

In collaboration with the B3Living team, the office layout has been developed around a flexible breakout space located on the central axis of the office, between the entrance and the dedicated garden terrace at the rear. This breakout space features various furniture arrangements, including high and low tables, formal and informal seating, and kitchen facilities. The space navigates the split level with Spanish steps and is top-lit by a rooflight, creating an inviting and dynamic atmosphere.

As part of the planning pre-application process, the external appearance has been a collaborative effort with the council’s planning and urban design teams to reflect their ambitions for this ‘gateway’ site. Responding to the architectural detail of the adjacent church and countering the dominance of the supermarket opposite, the form, massing, and detailed design have been carefully crafted. The material palette, depth of elevations, articulation of the roofline, and street-level ‘plinth’ design have all been meticulously considered to ensure the development's significance as a focal point and gateway to the town centre.

On the upper floors, the split between buildings A and B has helped reduce the overall form and massing, allowing visual permeability into the site, avoiding a tunnel effect on the street, and increasing the number of dual-aspect apartments. On the first floor, a podium garden connects the two buildings, providing a shared amenity space. Architectural detail borrows from the adjacent church, with recessed panels, stone coursing, and contrasting brick bonding to elevate the building. The use of recessed balconies on corners also adds depth to the building’s elevation, dissolving some of the corners while still presenting a strong gateway presence.

Summary