At Unity Place, a mixed-use head office building for Santander UK rubs shoulders with public realm spaces including a food market, auditorium and university learning spaces.
2 min read
Photography: Hufton+Crow & Palladian Media
With design helmed by London-based firm LOM architecture and design, the newly opened Unity Place reimagines the corporate workplace by opening the mixed-use head office building for Santander UK to the public. Located in Milton Keynes, the eight-floor concept was designed as a destination for the wider community as well as the company’s 6,000 employees, with a floorplate that provides welcoming, agile workspaces and and promotes a collaborative ethos – with Milton Keynes University learning spaces and a spacious 70,000 sq ft co-working floor operated by flexible workspace providers x+why.
Boasting an overall floor plan of 870,000 sq ft and a BREEAM Excellent rating, the ambitious project is the result of a three-year construction programme, with build-to-suit procurement by John Sisk & Son for Osborne + Co. Previously operating from four different office sites across Milton Keynes, Santander UK set the goal of uniting its workforce under one roof: creating an adaptable, future-forward office, designed to attract and retain the best talent. Selecting a low rise seven-storey building opposite Milton Keynes Central station, the new concept was planned across six flexible floorplates and a mezzanine.
Taking design cues from the region’s urban planning heritage and modernist architecture, the geometric blocks of Unity Place are both separated and connected by green atria, and landscaped terraces to mirror the city’s grid structure. The seven levels encompass four floors for Santander employees, one flexible working floor, the 6,500 sqm coworking floor operated by x+why and the Milton Keynes University and Santander learning floor for local students. Ranging from single occupants to Enterprise Suites for up to 90, x+why’s coworking space can accommodate 1,200 members and was designed with digital start-ups and local creatives in mind.
As well as the generous office spaces (accommodating approximately 1,000 desks), building users can also enjoy a broad range of onsite amenities. This includes everything from hospitality venues – such as a rooftop restaurant, pop-up food hall and designated brewery – to everyday services including a grocery store, a bakery and a barber shop – welcoming the public as well as allowing employees to complete daily tasks on their lunch break. Business and community venues also include a conference centre, auditorium, community hall and even a health suite dedicated to employees’ wellbeing.
As well as being an all-electric building complete with solar panels on the roof, Unity Space also boasts over 1,200 sqm of external landscaped terrace space and features four 18m-long garden bridges on alternate floors. Residents can opt to drive to work with 1,000 car parking spaces available across two basement floors, or access the site via greener public transport, which is just two minutes’ walk from Milton Keynes train station and a 30-minute train from London Euston.
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