When Thames Water wanted to modernise and update the staff restaurant facilities at their head office in Reading, Space Catering were called upon to coordinate all the various parties involved to complete the project.
Space worked at the centre of a team that included the catering operator, the facilities management company, and the end customer, to design and install a new servery and dining area worth £120k. The key to success for this project was to work with CH&Co on design, meet the brief required by Thames Water and also liaise with Mitie, who were responsible for stripping out the old facility, modifying the services and creating the new dining area periphery.
The restaurant is situated in a large, open atrium and was looking a little tired, suffered from long queues for food service, and had insufficient counter space to provide a suitable food selection to its staff.
“We wanted to create a pleasant and comfortable area for staff to take breaks, get together for informal meetings, and socialize generally throughout the day, not just for serving breakfast and lunches.” Said Debbie Charleston of CH&Co.
Space developed a new large servery including beverage, and patisserie stations, enabling Thames Water to extend the food offering to its staff beyond the regular meal service; improve the ergonomic flow of traffic within the dining area; and eliminate the queues for service.
As well as creating detailed visuals and mood boards, the Design Team at Space also created 3D walk-throughs to ensure all parties were happy with the layout before proceeding.
Space also designed and supplied the complete furniture and interiors scheme which needed to complement the existing corporate branding and the brief was to create a fresh, clean and comfortable environment based on the green and purple Thames Water livery. Part of the job involved supplying detailed floor and wall colour, and finish specifications to Mitie for them to complete their work.
Debbie Charleston summarised: “Space ensured that our brief was met, designing and creating a servery area that enables a 360° view of our products on offer. We are so delighted with the design we are using this format at our other sites”