The National Physical Laboratory (NPL), explained that their reception area felt very cold and clinical, and that it did little to promote the innovation or diversity of their business. Our brief was to re-create the environment so their 21,000 per year visitors would feel more welcomed and engaged, whilst also providing an exciting space that staff would be proud of too.
In our first client meeting, we walked the visitor journey from the front door through to the reception and then onto the seating area, so we could identify the key touch points and where visitors would dwell whilst they waited to be collected. One of the client key aims for the space was to tell a story from when the Laboratory first opened in 1900 through to what is being worked on today, and into the future.
Our initial concepts highlighted the areas we thought were key to address. The creative direction centred on bringing the essence of physics to the physical world. The concept we chose, used shards and lines which overlap and created a dynamic feel, whilst the white lines and dots we incorporated added clarity and precision. Brought together with a carefully selected palette of vibrant colours, we created an explosion of visions and a mind map of ideas, like any physicist would expect!
The whole project was delivered from initial concept approval to launch in under 3 months
Once the concept had been agreed, we worked closely with a range of production and installation partners from graphics, digital equipment and furniture manufacturers which all came together to make our vision a reality. The completed reception area includes a bespoke curved desk and seating area, meeting pods, vibrant glass panels with key messaging, a timeline wall with removable foamex panels, a 6 x 55” video wall and a 9m feature wall.