In 2020, the DWP signed a ten-year lease on a new office building on Summerhill, Birmingham in a £23.5 million deal, which at the time of completion was the largest office letting to be agreed in Birmingham since the start of the first Covid-19 national lockdown.
The building is fully let to The Department for Work & Pensions and Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, and in 2021 Dams were chosen as the preferred supplier to kit out the new building with new furniture.
When furnishing a government building, no two projects are ever the same and our flexible approach to manufacturing and customer service meant that we could provide solutions for any specific requirements the customer requested across the concept, design, manufacturing and installation phases.
The install included new bespoke desks with screens fully compliant with Covid-19 regulations, comfortable chairs, soft seating for waiting areas, canteen facilities, meeting spaces, storage for belongings, and much more.
The new bespoke desks were designed by Dams in-house Product Design team to include privacy for the users with a mix of wood and glass panels. The Jota family of chairs with their traditional oval shaped back design were used as waiting room and meeting chairs, with the Oslo sofas upholstered in a blue vinyl offering a more comfortable waiting space for visitors, chosen due to their aesthetic simplicity, angular corners and generous proportions.
Sleek and stylish with clean cut lines and balanced proportions, Adapt desks were selected for DWP staff with Altino mesh back chairs and monitor arms, ensuring maximum user comfort when sat working using the screen. The canteen area featured trumpet base dining tables and stylish Strut chairs in mustard with wooden frame bases, which were the perfect, customisable choice for café and dining environments, or informal spaces.
The new DWP building was transformed into a multi-functional area suitable for the public sector in the modern, post-pandemic era.