Domestic and General
Domestic and General
Bridging the physical and digital divide: Creating a high-performance hybrid workspace for Domestic & General.
Client
Domestic and General
Architect
SpaceInvader
Main Contractor
CBRE
Location
London & Southern
Subcontractor
Division One
Sector
Commercial
Domestic and General is the UK’s leading trusted provider of aftercare for domestic appliances. To create a forward-thinking and adaptable workspace, Domestic and General has recently had a full refurbishment of their existing HQ office, spanning four floors within a multi-tenanted building located in Wimbledon, London.
"The quality and visual look of the finished product is very impressive and has been well received by the client and everyone involved in the project."
— Paul Sparrow, Project Manager – Division One
- Domestic and General
Komfort’s Solution
With interchangeable panels available in various finishes and impressive acoustic ratings, Komfort Kreate was installed to help achieve this brief. This bi-block relocatable system can be demounted and fully relocated later in life to serve another purpose or design layout, offering sustainable and cost benefits to the end user. For this particular scheme, Komfort Kreate was installed alongside elements of bespoke joinery with screens within the squad bays to give a unique appearance.
Avoiding sound transference via the ceilings on the squad bays was essential to meet the acoustic requirements. The Komfort Kreate system was able to accommodate heights of 2.4m to conceal the services above by including a lowered bulkhead that provided separation in the void above to the structural soffit to provide control acoustic and manage performance.
Komfort Kreate, paired with Komfort’s Sonik Sliding acoustic double glazed doors, offer the aesthetic appearance and the acoustic performance required for the scheme and were installed across the digital team squad bays and meeting pods.
§02 — Specification
Komfort Systems
Three Komfort systems, calibrated to a single architectural language: gold steel, acoustic glass, and integrity ratings that disappear into the building.
01
DEF—EI30
Polar Kreate
solid panels
Single-glazed steel-framed screens dividing teaching wings from circulation. Slim sightlines, high-spec gold RAL.
02
DEF—EI60
Sonik Slide Doors
in Polar 112
Numbers, held quietly behind the glass.
Domestic and General
′
Fire integrity rating
EI60 — minutes
k
Square feet partitioned
Across four floors
%
Polar 100 double-glazed
Acoustic performance
RIBA-shortlisted scheme
Education, 2024
Domestic and General
Komfort Products Used
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The Brief in Brief
In response to the pandemic, Domestic and General have embraced the hybrid working approach between remote and office-based working to prioritise wellbeing, collaboration and flexibility.
To encourage this working model, it was essential for Domestic and General to provide an inclusive space that supports colleagues both physically in the office and those remote working.
Following this design brief, SpaceInvader created work bays for digital teams to engage with meeting facilities and technologies. This included whiteboard walls, conferencing systems and AV solutions which successfully fostered collaboration both internally and externally.
With an increased focus on wellbeing, acoustics also played an important role in the success of the scheme for both comfort and privacy. Considerations such as these have positioned Domestic and General as an attractive employer and also provided a compelling reason for their employees to return to the office.
The end result
Domestic and General were delighted with the end result and through investment in good collaboration technologies and work settings, their offices now serve their employees for better wellbeing, productivity and flexibility for years to come.
“This project was quite a challenge due to being designed and delivered throughout the Covid 19 pandemic as well as being installed to a tight programme and with the current constraints of the supply chain environment. Despite this the quality and visual look of the finished product is very impressive and has been well received by the client and everyone involved in the project.”
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