Hertfordshire Council

The Brief

Hertfordshire County Council embarked on a long term property strategy which will change the way staff work. By improving team dynamics and consolidating all services within a significantly smaller number of core locations, Hertfordshire County Council aim to improve the delivery of services to their customers across the county whilst reducing costs.

The project involved moving 4,500 staff from a variety of locations to three main bases in Stevenage, Apsley and Hertford. The Macro team carried out a full analysis and consultation programme working with staff representatives and workgroups and a storage strategy was developed to work within the overall new Accommodation Model.

Hertfordshire County Council then appointed KI to provide the storage solutions.

Our Solution

700 Series* - Brightly coloured turquoise and purple 700 Series lateral filing units have been used along the walkways to delineate the different areas, whilst bespoke KI cabinets have been installed for post points and to store brochures.

*700 Series storage has since been replaced by 800 Series in the UK and Europe. Rather than importing the 700 Series from the USA, we now manufacture the 800 Series in the UK, and have incorporated local modifications such as compatibility with the metric system for ease of filing. Aesthetically the 700 and 800 Series are indistinguishable, available in any custom colour required.

I knew KI from the days I worked on the British Airways Waterside project and was delighted to be working with them again as they deliver what they say, are nice to deal with, very reliable, and have a good customer service. We put budget into the storage system as it needs to last and was key to the project. Hertfordshire County Council have a ‘clear desk’ policy so all items are cleared away every evening into the storage... We wanted the storage to be bright as everything previously was very grey. The emphasis was to be lively, fun, very modern and show an up-to-date council working for the community and staff. KI provided all we wanted and it is very colourful. Rounded tops ensures papers are not left on the top, a lesson we learnt from the earlier Apsley project.

Jane Langton, Interior Designer, Macro

More Information

Date - 2005
Project Size - 4,500+ staff
Project Type - 2 new, large offices
Project Partner - Macro
Website - www.hertsdirect.org