Estee Lauder opens new London HQ following refit of 1 Fitzroy Place

The prestige beauty company, Estee Lauder, has settled in to its new 144,000 square foot UK headquarters at 1 Fitzroy Place, London. The new office brings together London employees and all education facilities in a single location and will also include branded retail storefronts at street level in the most significant new development in Fitzrovia in over 50 years.

In May 2014, Estee Lauder announced 1 Fitzroy Place, W1, as its new UK and Ireland headquarters, taking over 8 floors and 144,000 square feet of the recently completed Fitzroy Place development. Surrounded by Soho, Mayfair, Marylebone and Regents Park, Fitzroy Place is a new mixed use scheme that encompasses some of the most desirable residences and commercial premises in London.  Despite completion and opening of Fitzroy Place in February 2015, as sole residents of 1 Fitzroy Place, Estee Lauder wanted its new headquarters to reflect the company’s ethos and so undertook internal design and layout amends.

Designed by MCM Architecture, Ramboll assisted the internal redesign carrying out a feasibility report and providing acoustic services to the break out rooms. The main alteration to the internal design included separating the training centre, located on floors 1 - 2, from the remaining levels and introducing a dedicated entrance from the ground floor to the training facilities via a new grand staircase. Aros were appointed delivery architect who invited Ramboll to carry out engineering consultancy services for the new staircase.

With stone threads and brass cladding on steel, the suspended staircase proves to be an eye catching addition to the central atrium and hotel style foyer. Brought to site in 3 pieces, the staircase is fixed to the top and bottom floor plates and suspended at the edge by a series of brass cladded steel hanger rods, finished with a brass cladded steel handrail and glass partition. The design originally requested a 20mm steel plate but a 3D model analysis on vibration and natural frequency identified high levels of vibration, putting the floating staircase design at risk. To ensure the floating staircase concept was not compromised, the steel plates were increased to 55mm and 60mm with each riser and thread individually welded together, minimising deflection and providing a more rigid structure.

Chris Good, Estee Lauder’s UK and Ireland President commented, “The UK and Ireland market has been a hallmark of strong performance for The Estée Lauder Companies. As the business in the UK continues on its growth trajectory, this prestigious new headquarters will provide the perfect base to take the next step in our evolution. The new office will unite all of our headquarter employees under one roof, improve productivity and provide an inspiring, collaborative and agile space suitable for our high-performance organisation.”

The Estee Lauder office is part of Fitzroy Place, a unique 3 acre site providing 235 private apartments, 20,000 square foot of retail space, 220,000 square foot of commercial office space in addition to health and education facilities and public open space. Find out more information on Ramboll’s involvement in the Fitzroy Place redevelopment here.