Re-inventing the Industrial Shed
Large industrial sheds are known for their cost efficiency per sqft, large volumes and speed of construction, which makes them popular with distribution and logistics centres. It would be fair to say they have less of a reputation as destination workplaces, but changing that perception is exactly the sort of opportunity that gets us out of bed in the morning.
The Fragrance Shop came to us with a unique proposition. They were moving into a massive industrial shed in Trafford, firstly to fulfil their considerable product distribution needs, but also with a vision to move all their staff into the building and make it their unified HQ.
Up to this point, staff in different parts of the business group operated from offices in different locations. The practicalities of fluid collaboration between departments and business units was a constant challenge.
We were asked how we could not only design an environment that people wanted to be in, but one that could bind the people of the business together. A smart move for a growing business, but there was also a burning ambition from the client team to create something special from the start, and that always makes us smile.
Let's Build a Hole
With the move to the 190,000 sqft building in Trafford agreed, there was another challenge to consider from the outset. The proposed staff working area was in a 90,000 sqft wing of the distribution warehouse, spread across floors. Although all the staff would be in the same building, there was still a risk the floors would act as a barrier and teams could potentially still become siloed and disconnected from each other.
The solution was as simple as it was radical. Let's build a hole to connect them. Well, two actually.
It was a radical suggestion because it meant losing a considerable amount of useable floor area to create a void, but we believed it was an essential design strategy, so we added another floor in order to create that hole. The void would use the huge volume of the building to create a beating heart: a place where people could mingle, gather and socialise, form meaningful connections away from desks, and big enough to act as a town hall where the whole company of 500+ people could get together.
The space spans from floor to roof level and houses a kitchen, places to eat and collaborate, and an access point to upper levels via the bleacher-style stadium seating.
The Fragrance Wall
After settling into their new home, the team set about an ambitious record-breaking addition to celebrate 30 years in business. The Fragrance Wall uses the large flanking wall of the atrium to create what is now officially the world's largest fragrance installation, 3,000 unique scents floating on transparent shelves across a 15m x 16m surface.
In December 2024, The Fragrance Shop was awarded a Guinness World Record for it, surpassing the previous record held by Abdul Samad Al Qurashi Smart Museum for Perfume in Saudi Arabia by 194%. A landmark in any building. In this one, it feels inevitable.
The Fragrance Tree
Ascending the bleacher seating you arrive at the first floor, greeted by yet another void above. This is the Fragrance Tree, a special feature that creates another connection to the upper level, growing up through to the second floor and emitting its naturally fragrant perfume throughout.
Quiet Zones
The first floor is an open plan space with a variety of settings to break away or hold meetings. In an open plan environment, having quiet places away from desks to work, make a call or hold a casual meeting becomes even more important.
From zoom pods and booths to semi-concealed breakout seating and more formal meeting rooms, a wide variety of spaces are available for staff to work in different ways.
The space is finished in dark, muted tones with pops of warm, tactile materiality to create a more intimate feeling inside such a large open area.
Putting Wellbeing First
Amongst the wealth of amenities on site: a prototype store for testing products and ideas, a fully equipped gym, and a state-of-the-art lecture theatre.
The Fragrance Shop HQ is a space focused on the needs and wellbeing of its staff, designed to promote new ways of working and break old habits by giving people permission to break out, collaborate, socialise and exercise.
The Fragrance Shop HQ opened as a bet on what a unified business could become. The results since have made that bet look very well placed. 2024 was described by CEO Sanjay Vadera MBE as a true milestone year, record-breaking sales, store expansions, and a 30th anniversary celebrated in a building that now anchors the whole company. The Guinness World Record for the fragrance wall, set in December of that year, was the exclamation mark.
None of it happens in the same way without 500 people under one roof, connected by a pair of holes in the floor and a belief that the environment a business inhabits shapes the business it becomes.
The Fragrance Shop HQ proves that huge industrial sheds don't have to be cold, soulless places. With the right vision and clients brave enough to back those early sketches, they can be the most energising, ambitious workplaces around.
