Rap’s Project Highlights of 2017

2017 proved to be another busy year for Rap’s office designers, who encountered a multitude of challenging and prestigious projects. With so many highlights, we’ve pulled together a list of our favourites to give you inspiration your own interior makeover. From innovative office designs to a inspirational retail transformations, here are four of the best… Hudl – Office Fit Out, London Founded in America in 2006, Hudl provides coaches and athletes with performance analysis tools to review game footage. Rap were contacted to create a state of the art office which could facilitate an ‘activity’ based style of working. To facilitate activity based working – a system where employees aren’t assigned a desk but provided with a selection of work ‘zones’ to undertake specific tasks – Rap created a collection of spaces. These spaces included a lounge for quiet concentration; private rooms for meetings, video chats and phone calls; and an office zone with shared and individual desks. Another part of design the brief was to create an office which reflected Hudl’s company identity. To achieve this, the design included a number of sports-themed features, including a football badge graffiti mural and running track. The Hudl office fit out in London highlighted how design is evolving to accommodate new working practices. This aspect, along with the visually arresting design, made it one of the most interesting and unique projects of 2017. Questor Insurance – Relocation, Kent Questor is an insurance company that specialises in vehicle hire, motor excess, travel and gadgets. With Questor relocating to an office in Maidstone, Rap were commissioned to undertake the design and fit out works. With a remit to create a fun, hospitable office, one of Rap’s solutions was to introduce a trendy breakout area with a ping pong table, bean bag chairs and mini drinks fridge. The kitchen area would also help to achieve this brief, with the final design comprising of a dining space with soft office furniture solutions, tea point and retro arcade game machine. Other notable features of the design included glass fronted meeting rooms with custom manifestation, shared desks for an open plan layout and a colour scheme to match their company branding. With its fun theme, Questor was one of the most enjoyable projects of 2017 for Rap’s office designers. This project also highlighted how more companies are bringing in creature comforts to boost morale, which we expect to see more of in 2018. Shiro – Retail Transformation, London Shiro is a Japanese health & beauty brand that specialises in skin, body, hair and fragrance products. Rap were contacted to fit out two of their London shops: one in Bond Street and another in Covent Garden. For the Bond Street store, Shiro wanted a high end retail environment to tie in with the upmarket local identity. To realise this vision, Rap introduced a number of luxury features, including illuminated external signage, bespoke mosaic floor tiles, fluorescent feature lighting and a brass tap basin. The Covent Garden store also needed to look sophisticated, so Rap started by implementing a new timber parquet floor. With the floor in place, Rap then introduced an eye-catching customer hand basin, makeup counter and solid wood display tables. Another key feature of the design was the shelving, which was illuminated by LED downlights to highlight the products. The Shiro fit out turned out to be one of the most fulfilling projects of 2017. Not only did Rap complete the works within a tight schedule, but laying claim to two projects in renowned shopping hotspots is something to be proud of! What Will 2018 bring? With so much to shout about in 2017, we can’t wait to see what we’ve got in store in 2018. Will there be more companies adopting activity based working like the Hudl office fit out in London? Will we come across another project as unique as Blends for Friends? Indeed, the element of surprise is what makes interior design such an interesting vocation. Whatever the new year will bring, let’s hope it lives up to our high expectations!

For more information on Rap’s Project Highlights of 2017 talk to Rap Interiors