Rathbones is a leading provider of individual wealth management, asset management, and related services for private clients, charities, trustees, and professional partners.

Refurbished in 2019, they appointed Form Design Consultants as their Lead Designer to enhance the working environment of the floor, create a front-of-house area, including the reception, community space, and client-facing meeting rooms. The desired aesthetic was warm, inviting, sophisticated, and understated.

The reception desk, tea preparation worktop, and kitchen island were specified and crafted in high performing Corian® Solid Surface. This material was chosen for its durability and ability to provide a seamless, premium finish, consistent with previous Rathbones projects. The colour Limestone Prima embraces a strong visual texture and creates dynamic modernity.

Form designed a tea point and a bespoke island incorporating a wraparound planter made from Polygood® Emerald Ghost, located in the breakout area. This addition aimed to create a central feature that would enhance the communal atmosphere and align with the overall colour palette of the office.

With sustainability at the core of their values, Form were eager to incorporate innovative and sustainable materials into this project, and so they explored Polygood® – a product supplied to the UK and Ireland markets by CDUK – known for its incredible sustainable credentials.   Polygood® is the first material of its kind to achieve Cradle to Cradle Certified® Bronze status and has a verified Environmental Product Declaration (EPD).

CDUK played a crucial role, providing extensive support and expertise throughout the design journey. From the provision of samples at specification stage along with detailed technical advice and guidance, to designer and fabricator training, and ultimately the supply of Polygood® material for the project.

Through a Lunch & Learn session with CDUK, Form gained comprehensive knowledge on the Polygood® material which enabled the designers to understand the technical specifications, benefits, and applications of Polygood®, ensuring it was the right fit for the project. SCENE, the fabricator for this project, had not worked with Polygood® before, the team attended a training day at the CDUK Training Academy. This session equipped them with the necessary skills for the fabrication and installation of Polygood®, emphasising best practice techniques and safety awareness.

The successful collaboration resulted in a meticulously designed office space, while providing a functional and aesthetically pleasing environment for employees and clients. The contribution from CDUK was integral to achieving this outcome, demonstrating the importance of expert support and sustainable material solutions in modern office design.

Iain Munro, Managing Director, SCENE commented: “As champions of sustainable construction, we have been preaching about products such as Polygood® in our CPD seminars and it was great to be able to put this into practice with the Rathbones project. The aesthetic was co-ordinated with the designers to ensure that it was structurally sound while allowing the barely visible joins to be located to work with the layouts. The end result was an enormous island unit and a high traffic tea preparation space that not only shows that Polygood® looks great but is also flexible enough for daring design and durable enough for hard used areas. CDUK also helped us all along the way with their expertise and knowledge of the product and we felt well supported using this material for the first time.”