A Look Inside Young Minds’ New London Office

Michal
Nonprofit
5 years ago

Young Minds, a UK-based charity fighting for children and young people’s mental health, recently hired workplace design firm Dthree Studio to design their new office in London, England.

“Young Minds wanted to create a space that really celebrated what they do and also creates an environment where everyone, including their activists, could be together and feel comfortable in. In order to achieve this, we worked closely with the Young Minds team prior to the move on a workplace consultancy piece to really help us understand what they needed from their new space and any struggles they had with their old space so we could find the appropriate solutions. The consultancy consisted of staff engagement surveys, desktop working analysis, furniture audits and a building search analysis.

Combined with the look and feel of India House, the space is one that balances industrial finishes with the endearing personality of Young Minds. Upon entering the space you instantly get a sense of arrival with the bold branding and personal pictures hanging in the reception area providing a homely and welcoming feel.

We created 3 “formal” meeting rooms which included Young Minds vibrant brand colours on the walls and furniture whilst functionally these can be used in various ways as we have put AV and white boards in all of these rooms. In addition to these we have an enclosed “informal” meeting room with soft furniture which lends itself to different sorts of meetings, as well as a quiet room with no whiteboards or AV purely for 1:1 or small groups to get away from work and reset. There are also a number of varied sized booths which are more tucked away to allow for teams to have quick meetings without the need of occupying a room.

The breakout is really the heart of the space. Not only does it include their teapoint facilities but it has been designed to be used as a presentation space with a projector that can drop down. We designed in different seating styles at various heights to encourage different uses of the space. Dining height table and chairs encouraging people to eat their rather than at their desks. The bench seating allows for informal meetings, whilst the window seats can be used for quick coffee catch ups as well as allows for extra poufs to be tucked away until they are needed for larger presentations. High stools let people chat to others whilst they are preparing lunch etc, and all of these combine encourage different working environments.

One of the key features that really draws people to the breakout area is the large wall motif, “You Are Not Alone”. This was designed in collaboration with Young Minds and their activists to get the voices of the young people heard. The statement came from Young Minds with the pattern being a big part of their branding. The messages within the pattern are all personal from the activists. It was important the placement of the wall motif was in an area that works in bringing people together, so the breakout was the perfect fit.”