Global gaming giant, Flutter Entertainment, is known for its portfolio of leading international brands, including Sky Betting & Gaming, Paddy Power, PokerStars and Betfair.
Flutter moved their 1,400+ staff members from No. 2 and No. 6 Wellington Place into one building to establish unity between different brands and build an office fit for the future.
The office space needed to be adaptable and allow people to do their best work, supporting employees’ evolving work activities. The new environment empowers employees to change their space on demand to suit a particular purpose and activity.
Conducted in early 2019 for Sky Betting & Gaming, our space utilisation study uncovered some interesting data. It found that they were only using around 44% of their workstations, with only 33% average occupancy of the entire office at any one time.
This influenced our design, sensibly supporting a 6:10 workstation to person ratio for current staff but taking into account ambitious growth plans.
To make better use of the new office, spaces were shaped for both independent and collaborative work, including workbenches, quiet pods, sit/stand desks, digitally enabled meeting spaces and separate ‘zen zones’ for relaxation.
Against the status quo, over 20% of the entire office is dedicated to non-working areas (for socialising, relaxing and recreation) to encourage a ‘one-team dynamic’ and connect people on a deeper level through social activities.
We started the design process by looking at the building’s configuration. The sharp triangular shape presented an interesting challenge but lent itself to creating consistent spaces within each floor.
We used the nose of the building to create zen zones – geographically, this made sense, given the great views over the Wellington Place business district. The centre of the building provides an impressive sense of welcome and is reserved for social spaces. The rear is less exposed to sunlight, so is home to meeting rooms.
The look, feel and flow of each floor is influenced by the function it’s required to perform (forums, meetings, presentations, focus, lounge and social).
As an example, the bright and airy café was created using natural materials such as wood and plants to evoke a sense of calm. A south-facing outdoor terrace gives social events their own dedicated natural space, and the gaming space on the eighth floor encourages employees to socialise and have fun.
The new office not only brings people together but liberates employees from fixed positions within their environment. This promotes collaboration and creativity in an accessible and spontaneous way.
The mobile furniture and fittings encourage the team’s own space management and set-up. Bi-fold doors and writable walls are available across the site for sessions organised at a moment’s notice. Unpluggable tables ensure new teams can be brought together for project-dependent situations.
To support global communication, we designed digitally enabled meeting rooms on each floor with video conferencing and AV equipment.
Providing employees with choice in how they move between structured and unstructured collaboration is now vital to keeping fresh ideas constantly flowing.
Delivering a fast-track build and design project for Flutter Entertainment within just six months meant that our team needed to be as methodical in the strategy and execution as we were creative in the design.
“We’ve had tears from one person who was just delighted to be back in the office. People are genuinely happy about the amount of space there is, the way the space has been designed and the way we’ve created specific areas that you can work from in a silent way or as a team. You can sit on your own or you can get 80 people together. There really is something for every different way people want to work. Truly hybrid.”
Michael Afflick, Head of Sponsorship, Brand and Creative at Flutter Entertainment
When organisations truly support hybrid working, employees can connect to anyone, anywhere. Technology empowers people to be more efficient and ready for change, and improves productivity, collaboration and, ultimately, development for future success.
Flutter’s new office space cements their position in the heart of Leeds. In an ever-changing work environment, the building allows them to operate with greater adaptability and flexibility for their workforce. The contemporary and people-focused environment makes Flutter a highly attractive place to be.