Selfridges London Staff Welfare Area

Client: Selfridges & Co.

Location: Selfridges, London

Year: 2016

 

Brief: To design a reception area and welfare space for staff at the flagship Oxford St. store, containing storage for personal belongings, showers and full bathroom facilities as well as a new staff and visitor café at street level.

We wanted our design for this welfare space to empower staff, helping them prepare for their work day and nurturing and motivating them to go into the store and provide the best possible service to customers.

The site was subterranean and carved our of irregular service spaces with no natural light. To combat this we chose a palette of strong, bright colours – a sky blue rubber floor and fresh white locker units with fluorescent orange end panels to lift spirits and strong graphic treatments to give the space identity and aid navigation.

At peak season there could be up to 6000 personnel using the space. To prevent the area feeling impersonal and labyrinthine we inserted mirrors and unexpected hideaway nooks within the banks of high-functioning electronic lockers where staff could store personal possessions.

In the bathrooms we created a repetitive white tile grid on floors and walls, inspired by the limitless perfection of Superstudio’s iconic installation, to create a landscape of clean, immaculate planes punctuated by functional units – showers, sinks, mirrors, hair dryers etc. to make staff feel cared for and considered.

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