50
the World Of Hospitality
Ormerod Design
Ormerod Design provides tasteful
service for Majestic Wine
L
eeds-based architectural practice, Ormerod
Design Ltd, has completed a contract to design
the new Watford head offices of Majestic Wine
as part of a £2 million refurbishment.
The three-storey property was built in the 1980s
– generally considered a non-vintage decade
in architectural terms – and purchased in 2014
by Majestic Wine with a view to stripping back
the interior to a shell and transforming it into
contemporary office space, meeting and training
facilities totalling 3,087 square metres. Working with
quantity surveyors Michael Bowker & Associates,
M&E consultants Cundall and Nationwide Building
Contractors, Ormerod played a leading role in the
transformation with a generous splash of high-end
style featuring a striking open staircase as the central
hub and a custom-designed, state-of-the-art wine
storage and tasting counter used by Majestic’s expert
buyers to test products before they hit the stores. Other
elements include a new reception, meeting and board
rooms, light training facilities, communal break-out
areas, LED lighting throughout for reduced energy
usage, charger points for electric cars and shower
rooms to promote the company’s ‘cycle to work’
initiative.
Stuart Williams, Property Director at Majestic Wine,
said: “We are delighted with the outcome of the project
which was delivered to an exceptional standard on
time and to budget and has provided a facility that
everyone comments on. It’s a great place to work, very
smart without being ostentatious, and the building has
captured the character of the business, which everyone
who comes into contact with Majestic can see,
particularly on the ground floor space which focuses
on the presentation of our wine products.”
Website: www.ormeroddesign.co.uk
Armine Sutton of Ormerod Design said: “One of
the key aims was to create space which encourages
interaction and collaboration between staff over three
floors with the spiral staircase as the focal point of this
dynamic. We have incorporated a comprehensively
high specification, including structural glass and
stainless steel balustrade, solid oak doors and
windows, custom-built revolving entrance doors,
high-tech chilled and boiling water Vivreau taps and
high-tech security systems. These superior features
have been introduced whilst delivering cost savings
of over £1.1 million on the client’s original estimate
through careful management of the project, the
procurement method and value engineering. Many of
the stand-out features, including the tasting counter
and reception counter, were manufactured from our
designs by a family-run company of bespoke joiners.”