Cathay Pacific London HQ
A subtle and elegant suite of offices for airline giant Cathay Pacific which represented an opportunity to serve as a catalyst for change in workplace culture, as well as offering the possibility to integrate the company’s brand design values and ethos from the outset.
Interior architects and designers align have created a subtle and elegant suite of offices for airline giant Cathay Pacific in their new airy and spacious premises, just east of Hammersmith Bridge. The 4th floor, 9,295 sq ft space faces the Thames directly, with views over to the famous Harrods Furniture Depository building opposite. The new workspace serves as Cathay Pacific’s UK headquarters and the company has additional, smaller operational offices in the UK at Heathrow, Gatwick and Manchester Airports.
Cathay Pacific’s previous offices were also in the Hammersmith area, but, after fourteen years of occupancy, they no longer fitted the company’s needs. The old offices had a lack of spatial flow, following classic piecemeal company expansion and the overall ambience was rather dark and heavy, with furniture and fittings that had come to feel old-fashioned. The opportunity to move represented therefore a great opportunity to serve as a catalyst for change in workplace culture, as well as offering the possibility to integrate the company’s brand design values and ethos from the outset.
One of the most important aspects of this culture change was the possibility of promoting a greater sense of togetherness and communality, helping to move the workforce on from separated departments and rather formal meeting rooms to a connected and flowing series of spaces in the new workspace, comprised of open-plan offices, a retained smaller number of private offices for key discretionary areas such as finance and HR, as well as breakout spaces and meeting rooms with varying degrees of formality and informality.
The Cathay Pacific company design ethos is ‘softly spoken, strongly felt’, pointing towards a language of tasteful, warm and considered sensory experiences, delivered with respectful grace and heartfelt hospitality. For align, it was an important part of the design concept stage to refer to the company’s brand values and translate them into 3D form.
