A new home for Homelet

"It's just not what you'd expect a call centre to look like..."

Amalgam have recently completed a project to relocate 'HomeLet' (part of the Barbon Insurance Group.) from their 40,000 sqft HQ in Lincoln into new purpose built premises of just 25,000 sqft.

Their new home is 30% smaller than their former office, yet it's design has allowed HomeLet to expand their staff by nearly 100, to 330, cutting overheads and facilitating growth.

Working closely with the HomeLet change management team and project managers Gerald Eve LLP, Amalgam undertook a detailed workplace study, and devised a new strategy which encouraged more task based working and flexibility. The new workplace, known as Hestia House, after the Greek goddess of home and hearth, has been designed to encourage openness and create a lively, friendly, and homely working environment.

The Design: The interior has been designed to feel informal and domestic. The idea to make it as 'homely' as a call centre can be. The client's brief was to use the corporate identity colour palette, (deep blue, bright orange, and 'Barbon Group Green') wherever possible. Ian and his team have introduced soft, natural textures and materials to soften the space and to offset the corporate look.

Light timber 'micro-architecture' structures including pergolas and booths, define separate zones for the various operational areas and create a sense of place for each of the different sales, referencing or customer

services teams. They break up the large open plan areas and help to create overall ambiance which is comfortable, welcoming yet stylish and contemporary.

Storage units are fitted with Camira Blazer virgin wool fabric backs which softens the acoustics. Wooden venetian blinds throughout and Soltec solar control blinds to all south facing windows ensure any glare on computer screens can be controlled or eliminated as preferred.

Contractor: Overbury won the fit-out contract in competitive tender. They completed the fit-out on time, in 9 weeks, snag free and within budget.

Suppliers: Amalgam worked closely with The Furniture Practice to select the furniture; desking is from Forma 5, storage from Metal Office, workstation and meeting room seating from Orangebox and Arper. Easy / café seating is from Allermuir and Connection, and benches are by James Burleigh. The suspended screens are from Koiziol, glazed partitions from Komfort and operable walls by Creatif. Carpets are from Interface and Desso, porcelain tiles from Domus and vinyl floors from Amtico.

"I just thought I'd drop you a line with some feedback I had from a new agent prospect I showed around Hestia yesterday... They were so impressed with the set up and the layout. They particularly enjoyed the concept of the drop-in booths and break away areas and said there was a real buzz about the place, but it was clear that everyone was working hard and there was a focus too. Lots of really happy smiley faces and a fantastic place to bring customers, which have both gone a long, long way to getting a large, local business on board with us."

Jake Robinson. HomeLet, Account Manager.