| The wonderment of work and fashion |
By: Jade Tilley
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Posted: Friday, October 8, 2010 3:06 pm
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Net-A-Porter’s ‘Working Wonderland’ has been masterminded by the creative genius that is Studiofibre. We take a look inside....
When I first learnt of this project, it was whilst speaking to a well-respected pr agent. We had previously discussed ideas for the coming issues of the magazine and I was excited at the prospect of the new seasons trends and the work going on in the industry. After a couple of days I received an email claiming that this new design story would ‘blow everything out of the water’ and he was right. The newly designed working environment for the online fashion giant, Net-A-Porter sits atop the Westfield shopping centre in London. Its’ interior flows over mezzanines levels and open-plan working spaces so glorious that you forget that people come here to work. Chic lines, blends of classical and contemporary fittings, bespoke furnishings and lighting to rival any vogue photo shoot are all as standard in this incredible ‘working wonderland’. I put some questions to the designers behind the creation and here are the results…
What was the brief set by net-a-porter?
There were two briefs really. One was a very practical brief, concerning the company’s very fast expansion and this dealt with the projected staff count, leading in to working adjacencies, circulation and functionality. The other was a less tangible brief, about how to create the physical environment for a company that already had a strong virtual presence on the Internet, an environment that would stand as the 3D embodiment of the brand.
The brief was to create not simply an office, but a more ‘progressive working environment’ that would form a hybrid between office, photographic studios, retail and event space. The Net-A-Porter brand has a strong masculine presence, with a feminine finesse and a key element of the brief was to capture the essence of this brand. From an operational point of view, the business model is constantly evolving as are the projected headcount figures, and with this in mind it was important to create an environment that was flexible and that could accommodate such rapid change.
Environment: What are the key areas of the whole space?
 The key area is definitely the theatre stairs. This is the centre of the space both physically and also in terms of function. It is where the staff gather for company presentations, where they shoot runway shows, have parties and also just meet up and have a snack at lunchtime.
What kind of environment did you set out to achieve?
To create a ‘working wonderland’ which exploited the ‘non-standard’ nature of the location (without the use of standard office elements) and which embraced the progressive working environment whilst building a 3D embodiment of the Net-A-Porter brand. The Net-A-Porter product is a virtual world of fashion, a digital company, but they had also been living on the top floor of Whiteley’s in West London for five years and really loved the classical aspect of that building. We thought this was a theme that we were keen to explore with a mix of classical/ minimal/ traditional/ contemporary, whether in the form of sliced moulding details or oversized panelling and door proportions.
Style: Net-a-porter is synonymous with luxury and decadence, bringing the catwalk to the computer screen- accessing fashion has never been so stylish. What specific ideas did you come up with to create a highly creative workspace that reflected the ethics and style of Net-a-porter as a company?
Net-A-Porter like the idea of progressive workspaces, so it was a given that there would need to be break out/ meeting/ touchdown environments throughout the space. Staff do not tend to work in isolation, it’s a very collaborative organisation and they tend to spend a lot of time sharing information, so this was a necessary aspect of their requirements.
What we tried to bring to this contemporary workplace was a classical thread in the design detailing, through the specification of a mix of finishes, fittings and furniture.
Corporate identity: What, if any branding elements did you use within the space, or was this something that was a more implicit message?
Black and White!
Scale: The space is quite vast and flows over different levels and floors. How did this affect the design?
The space was completely empty when we started. No services, no mezzanine, no floor. We started from scratch. Westfield’s leisure box was previously destined to be a swimming pool and sports centre and was presented as a shell with no CAT A elements, a vast cavernous ‘airplane hanger’ with 10m ceiling height. The circulation aspect of the space with the various mezzanines, booth areas, meeting rooms etc. was part of our design concept. We utilised all the space we could and put break out areas on top of service cores and libraries down dead end spaces and linked everything in such a way that we created a looping circulation. Always more than one way to get anywhere.
Evolution of the workspace: In what ways has the office/ workspace evolved in the last ten years?
Companies like NAP embrace modern workspaces where there is perhaps less personal space and more space to meet and exchange ideas. They are a very dynamic company and use all sorts of informal environments to have meetings. They also have a lot of tech in the offices! Video conferencing is very important, along with screens  updating, purchasing and locating data in real time.
Office design has taken a big step forward in the past year because of the economic downturn – why is the office space now considered so important to the employee’s and the company as a whole?
I don’t think the downturn will affect the development of office design in the long term. People send a lot of time at work nowadays and companies like NAP know it is important to keep staff stimulated and excited about being at work.
Bespoke and beautiful: How were you able to innovate in terms of the furniture, to create areas, which were comfortable, practical and stylish? Have you used and fabrics/ textiles that are also used in fashion to create that synergy between the brand’s identity and the working environment?
We designed and build all the bespoke joinery and procured all the furniture for the offices; this meant we could co-ordinate an eclectic mix of contemporary and classical fixtures and fittings and control the detail and finishes in a way that may be metaphorically connects with NAP’s idea of multi-brand online shopping and environments which are both corporate and boutique at the same time.
Studiofibre projects range from commercial and residential interior design and architecture, to bespoke furniture and domestic product design and production, and include contract furniture and fittings specification and procurement. The company philosophy emphasizes creativity of thought and the pursuit of a ‘non-style’ through and the notion that every design solution derives itself from the micro-specifics of a particular brief, site context and budget mixed with the macro-specifics of a wide social and cultural setting.
Ian and Fiona Livingston are the lynch pins of Studiofibre, a multi-disciplined design company based in the Chiltern hills, just outside London. Established in 2007 by Fiona and Ian and benefitting from their diverse creative experience, Studiofibre is today a vibrant, evolving design studio with a portfolio of projects that encompass a broad range of sectors.
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