House of Hearst brings together the London offices for the first time, creating a highly collaborative and flexible work environment in the heart of London’s West End.
Spanning five floors and totalling 71,000 square feet the building has been transformed into a community-driven space with a focus on movement.
Hearst UK is the publisher of titles including Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar and Esquire.
In a move to consolidate its two Soho-based offices into the new LSQ London development in Leicester Square, Hearst’s new location brings together multiple media brands under one roof.
Gensler’s design team was challenged to create a new open work space that fosters collaboration across the various brands, while showcasing the business’ heritage and innovation.
Key design elements consisted of a large flexible reception area, central meeting suite, library space and dining area to drive integration and collaboration among teams.
A residential quality meanwhile encourages people to take pride in and ownership of the space, as well giving it a calming and restorative atmosphere
Meeting rooms were centralised, allowing desks to be situated around the periphery to receive more natural light and better inward and outward vistas - enhanced by a new biophilia and green spaces.
A plaque wall was created, with each plaque representing a publication under the Hearst umbrella, and engraved using the Hearst typography.
Christopher Crawford, senior associate for Gensler Europe, said: “Our year-long project showed how strategic workplace design can have an impact on the dynamics and culture of a business – from increasing collaborative behaviours to helping employees be more connected and flexible.”
Claire Blunt, chief operating officer at Hearst UK, added: “The central offices enable us to be close to our commercial partners and also to attract and retain the best talent within the industry.”
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