“New ways of working” is a buzz phrase among public property people who want to make their office spaces more efficient. But what does the concept mean in practice?

For Birmingham City Council, a recent challenge has been to accommodate workers from changing social care teams of differing sizes in a single building. In the current climate of spending cuts, the numbers and shapes of council teams will change from one year to the next. With Lifford House, the brief was to provide space for up to 700 workers for any team that might need it.

Project name

Lifford House

Client

Birmingham City Council

Partners

Square Dot

Birmingham City Council Urban Design

Wates Construction

Mitie Engineering

Telereal Trillium

When it happened

Lifford House was commissioned in summer 2008 as a new workplace for Birmingham City Council.  It opened in October 2009 and houses more than 700 employees in the south of Birmingham.

Brief

To create a modern, bright, efficient and flexible workspace that is generic in layout. This is crucial to enable occupation by employees from different service directorates, facilitating new ways of working.

Aims

• Create a sustainable working environment that supports the introduction of “agile working”
• Deliver a building that staff want to work in with a flexible, efficient, open plan workspace
• Demonstrate the council’s commitment to regenerating the area
• Move towards a paperless office – targeting 2 linear metres of storage per person.

How it was done

By converting a vacant derelict industrial building into a new property with team working areas, break out areas, and kitchenette areas.  Re-using the building’s existing frame delivered a quicker, more sustainable building than complete demolition and new build.

By introducing new IT solutions such as Multi-Function Device that offers printing, fax, and scanning, Wi-Fi laptop computer areas and Voice Over Internet Protocol, which allows phone calls to be made via the council’s networks and the internet.

By using sustainable construction and introducing ‘green’ features such as recycling facilities and cycle storage.

By ensuring the new workspace conformed to the vision and standards for all future council workspace, which were tried tested in a demonstration office, called Workplace 2011 (see PublicPropertyUK’s previous coverage here), set up in the Council House Extension

Key benefits

• Achieved “agility” of 30%, meaning a ratio of 7 workstations for 10 members of staff
• Efficient use of workspace –- 80.7 Sq ft per workstation
• Delivered an award winning building – winner of the British Council of Offices’ midlands regional fit-out category

What they say

“The environment in which people work impacts on how they feel about their job and in my view it’s long overdue that those working in children social care get the facilities they deserve. Lifford House will enable us to have a far more consistent approach to management and free up more time for social workers to spend with children and families.”

Colin Tucker, Director of Children’s Social Care. Birmingham City Council

“Lifford House has increased interaction in our team and helped us to build on an already fantastic team spirit. In fact, the move to Lifford House has made my day more enjoyable.”

Amar Mahmood, Adults and Communities, Birmingham City Council

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