Runway East London

  • Our role
  • Consultation
  • Creative strategy
  • Interior design
  • Space planning
  • Wayfinding

A launchpad for high flyers

Runway East is a co-working community that provides space for high growth start-ups, operating in Bristol and London. They contacted us to act as the design lead to help them define what their interior brand could be as they grow as an organisation. When a client says they want to create strong communities of happy teams it's exactly the type of brief that we love, we couldn't wait to get cracking.

Breakout social space
Outdoor container bar

Creating an interior brand

As part of an overall rebrand, Runway East wanted to work with people who understood how brand and space could move in the same direction. With an expanding portfolio and the rise of customer expectations in the flexible workspace sector they needed to evolve their offer and carve their own niche in an increasingly crowded market.

Starting with the development of two fantastic flagship sites in London, the brief was to create a bold new design direction, and in collaboration with delivery partners Interaction, realise it across two very different buildings.

Our process was kicked off with a workshop followed by open dialogue and idea sharing to build an understanding of what their brand is all about and how it could translate into their spaces.

It was important not to create a cookie-cutter house style that can be rolled out across different sites, but rather define a DNA that can convey a feeling that is recognisable, ownable and can adapt and evolve. The Runway East vibe is bold, playful and youthful, which made the process of exploring ideas together a lot of fun.

An early development sketch exploring a playful, eclectic vibe

“With so many ‘trend-driven’ flexible office developments all starting to look the same, we always aim to do things differently. At Runway East we believe that developing spaces with their own unique personality helps to bring people together and form strong communities.

Sheila Bird Studio have been fanstastic to work with, their bold creative vision has given us distinctive workplaces full of character that our customers love and enjoy spending time in.”

Natasha Guerra, CEO Runway East
Early concept work for London Bridge

Purpose and personality

Communal spaces are the lifeblood of the Runway East culture and flow throughout each of the buildings, therefore it was important to give these spaces their own unique character and purpose to promote movement and interaction between each floor.

The ground floor communal spaces were designed around a central kitchen, always the hub of activity, a concept we called The Long Island Lounge. The idea is rooted in a multi functional kitchen island that extends and changes in height. You can sit at it, sit on it, have a meeting at it, plant it- it's the spine of the space. Other areas flowed out from here, places for quiet reflection and focus which we named Karma Corner and The Refuge.

Social spaces at ground floor also connect through to vibrant outdoor areas.

A story in technicolor

An overall colour story colour was developed for each building which could flex up and down in different areas to create zones with their own distinct personalities and and uses. Different spaces that could encourage play, conversation, contemplation and focus at different times of the day.

The tonal palette is muted rather than primary to create warm, inviting spaces that people feel at home that don't over-power or over-stimulate. Equally, the material palette was designed to be tactile and textural with velvets, patterned fabrics, corduroy, Zelig tiles and Foresso finishes.

Runway East 1
Spinning vinyl in Shoreditch the old school way
London Bridge reception

Art attack!

On both London Bridge and Shoreditch sites we also collaborated with artists to develop unique murals, wallpapers and window vinyls that aligned with the design direction.

It was fantastic to collaborate with two very different but complimentary artists, Jo Hicks on Shoreditch and Jazz Stan on London Bridge, to create graphics with energy and vibrancy that align with the brand personality.

Murals and wallpapers by Jazz Stan
Wallpapers and window vinyls by Jo Hicks

Private zones and secret rooms

The little nooks in the space offered great opportunities to create private, one person spaces for focussed working and calls. As with the communal spaces, they come in a variety of characters to keep things interesting. Some with large windows and flooded with light, others darker and more intimate. There is a dedicated library on the ground floor so we made one of the private booths nearby secret, hidden behind a large door disguised as a bookcase.

Runway East 3
On the 4th floor you'll find a playful games room

Bold moves, small details

In addition to custom vinyls and wall coverings we designed brand led signage throughout the buildings incorporating lightboxes and ply joinery for floor levels and meeting rooms.

We also helped curate additional art prints and dressing accessories that captured the spirit of the brand.

Got an interesting project idea?
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