Setting a bold aspiration to become the world’s healthiest workplace, GSK’s headquarters at 79 New Oxford Street is a pioneering example of experience-driven design.
Home to around 3,000 employees and over 800 live plants, the building unites flexible work areas with a wellness floor and Europe’s largest indoor vertical farm. Building on the creative vision of the wider design team, we developed a wellbeing-led lighting strategy that supports the collective goal of achieving WELL Platinum and BREEAM Outstanding certifications.
The Orangery farm-to-table restaurant is an innovative concept, where wellbeing and sustainability are embedded in the design. To complement the dynamism of the backlit grow walls and LED-optimised hydroponic towers, we incorporated a fibre-optic ceiling and theatrical arcs of light, adding an extra level of drama to the setting.
Across the communal areas, the lighting makes every space feel welcoming and comfortable. Fixtures were positioned to illuminate walls rather than people’s faces, while subtly-evolving lighting scenes create depth and variation as the day unfolds.
Within the workspaces, the lighting is layered across multiple planes to maximise visual comfort. Specifically, soft ambient illumination overhead and task lighting at desk level. These gentle layers of light are counterbalanced by bold linear details, suspended above the desks and seating clusters to energise the mood.
The final challenge was the meeting rooms, where we balanced backlit skylights with cove illumination and spotlights. Video conferencing is central to these spaces, so the lighting was commissioned while the meeting rooms were in use, allowing the team to assess a range of skin tones and expressions on camera.
Images © Sam Phillips
