Proposals for Bidwells’ second fully-agile building have been approved by city planners and the firm is revealing CGI impressions of how the 5,000 sq ft glass-fronted, pitched-roofed building will look when complete.
Bidwells reopened its headquarters, the 21,000 sq ft Bidwell House, in early 2018 after a transformative project to create Cambridge’s first fully-agile refurbished building.
The multi-disciplinary firm won plaudits for delivering a step change in the quality of its client service by creating a larger and more enticing visitor area, eight stylish new meeting rooms and a large open plan 140-seat café where clients are encouraged to stay for refreshments after meetings.
Bidwells’ new Trumpington High Street home for its Cambridge sales, lettings and new homes business will integrate the flexibility and functionality of Bidwell House with a stylish and welcoming interior design approach, ensuring visitors receive the same warm welcome and flexible service.
Head of Residential, David Bentley, said:
“Our ‘agile working revolution’ has been such a success in Bidwell House that we’ve taken everything we learnt during and after the move and applied it to our home sales and lettings business. Our offices will be open, comfortable, engaging and warm, reinforcing the message that our door is always open.
“Buying and selling a home is a hugely important and often stressful experience so we want people to feel comfortable when they come and see us and not feel rushed. We want it to be the most welcoming visitor experience in Cambridge”.
The new business space will have much closer links with Bidwell House, promoting the use of central, shared facilities like the new Brewery Café. Visitors will arrive through a double height glass-fronted entrance to be greeted by a high-tech video wall and digital signage system playing high quality multi-media presentations of homes on offer from Bidwells.
The building’s gabled timber roof and exterior has been designed to be sympathetic to the neighbouring thatched roof cottage but with solar panels in the roof and a modern interior environment system, the building will exceed building regulation standards.
David added: “It is unusual for a commercial building to have timber finished roof, but the building’s design takes the best of the traditional Trumpington High Street.
“We’re most excited about the welcoming reception layout and stylish interior design, which means visitors will feel part of a modern and inviting space. We’re thrilled with the designs and are looking forward to getting into our new home”.
The site’s existing buildings have been demolished with construction beginning imminently. Bidwells’ sales, lettings and new homes teams expect to vacate their existing Stonecross building and move into their new offices in autumn 2020.
During 2019, the firm’s offices in Milton Keynes, Oxford, London, Norwich and Perth have also been refurbished to support agile working.
