McCann, London [GB]

EeStairs + Fletcher Priest Architects + Gensler | London

Entering the magnificent city offices of McCann Worldgroup you know you are in the creative heartlands, immediately you sense the hum of the 1200 talented minds that make up this newly unified workspace.

Gensler was tasked with bringing together over a thousand employees from 12 different agencies and four different locations with the remit of creating  a dynamic  workspace, that engenders individuality and independence. Plus the offices needed to be smarter and more flexible to be conducive  for collaboration.  According to Jane Clay, Principal, Gensler “We knew we had to bring something different to the table”

At the heart of the space is The Great Hall, where natural light enters through the glass ceiling and where small beads of contemporary lighting cascade through the void. The striking and rigorously symmetrical staircases – there are three –  are designed and constructed by EeStairs; these are engineered from metal with inlay concrete treads and each step is inset with two lines of non-slip material. According to Christopher Crawford, Gensler, “The power of shared spaces like The Great Hall and shared destination spaces help to collaborate more”.

The stairs serve an essential role in the design of the building and increase touchdown points (T.Points). These T.Points help engagement between team members on an informal basis for quick catch-ups and for short bursts of time only, whilst always increasing collaboration. The five floors of offices are connected by three staircases which are all independent of each other – the antithesis of one continual staircase.  Two staircases go across The Great Hall diagonally  and one vertically. Sara Kaway of Gensler explains “When going up the stairs through the floors you have to go on to the floor on to the T.point zone where bumping into colleagues sparks collaboration and conversation.”