Vibrant Office Space inside a Victorian Castle Could Be Your New Favorite Workplace
See this colorful interior with the striking pop art, playful chandeliers, and vibrant pipes? Well, that is a Victorian castle, but interior designer Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen did his magic and turned it into a wonderland for workers. Yes, this place was not renovated to be an entertainment center or anything of the sort but the new Headquarters for the U.K. personal finance site money.co.uk.
The company founder Chris Morling commissioned this renovation project, spending more than $3.7 million in the process. The renovated castle is in Gloucestershire, and it is known as Cecily Hill Barracks or simply ‘the castle.’ It was built in 1857 and used to be an encampment for the British army.
The new eclectic interior design gathers in one place various themes and styles. The bare ducts and metallic lighting fixtures hanging from the ceiling give the impression of a high-tech interior. The steampunk library feels like part of Science fiction movie setting. The working space is quite dazzling, starting from the top with the purple ducts and skylight. The doodles and wall art on white paint stops by the seating level and red bricks follow, contradicting all the sleek High-tech lying features above. The meeting room is quite an interesting sight with the hanging neon lights reflecting its glowing color on the metal of the armors, and you can still see the old Victorian castle openings in the background.
The renovated castle did not miss out on green features. By the entrance, you can see the green vertical garden walls, provided with automatic water release system. There is also an energy recovery system which supplies the spaces with fresh air while keeping the energy consumption low. That is in addition to the infrared sensors for lighting purposes.
Chris Morling told the Daily Mail in a previous interview that his main inspiration for this renovation project was to make his employees happy. “What we have done is modeled all the design around the needs of the team. Some people want to stand while they work, some people to work alone. Ultimately it boils down to creating a space where you feel comfortable,” said Morling.
