The Office Group occupy the 24th and 25th Floors of the Shard. Recently completed as the tallest building in Europe the building offers tenants unique panoramic views across London and the home counties. The building’s unusual plan form and the continuing variation of the angles of the vertical elements offered the designers both a challenge and opportunity.

The office public areas provide reception , club, shared working , informal meeting , bar and seminar rooms. A new staircase is introduced in this area which provides a vantage point to appreciate both the views – and a complex technical challenge with the Shards’ fire strategy

The design organises the working areas around a loose form of concentric and compound curves . The character of the wall finish differs with the internal core being clad in American Black Walnut ribs giving it warmth and rhythm and the outer curve defined with fins of polished stainless steel endlessly reflecting the light and office users as they circulate through the spaces. The plan forms are inspired by shapes drawn from Ellmsworth Kelly and provide a sense of continual movement while circulating around the building. The internal core is lined in ribbed glass and mirror which reflects the strong light penetrating the building to the centre of the plan. The office partition is of a different nature , the curves peel away to open views and vistas focused on the intersection of the façade’s glazed panels. Here the office space gives way to informal break out areas that sit against the façade and provide long views , tea and coffee points recessed into the internal core and carefully selected furniture items for relaxing and meeting. The upper floor provides 17 working suites and the lower floor 13 .

A number of bespoke furniture items have been designed to sit within the lobby, including the banquette seating and the free standing bar. These respond to the geometry of the scheme and room and also provide continuing unbroken curved forms. The loose furniture has been selected from period pieces aligned with the schemes inspiration including items designed by Carlo Molino, Eero Saarenin and Fred Scott.