London Office Fit-Out for Axa at The Gherkin 30 St Mary Axe
June 2009
AXA have appointed Maris Interiors to undertake the office fit-out and office relocation to 30 St Mary Axe, London, EC3A. This landmark office building is more commonly known as ‘The Gherkin’.
AXA, a worldwide leader in financial protection, are taking 16,500 sq ft of office space on Level 20, the last available space in the 180 metre tall building.
Interestingly, Maris was the first company to carry out an office fit-out in the Gherkin back in 2005 for Hypo Real Estate on the 21st floor.
The fast track office fit-out project is scheduled to last nine weeks, with AXA moving in by the end of July. Due to the ultra tight timings, work actually started on site before the formal appointment was made.
Initially AXA met with nine companies to carry out this two stage procurement but chose Maris Interiors due to their thorough proposal and past experience. Having completed two smaller office design and fit-out projects for AXA in the past, confidence in delivery of a successful project was high.
The project team consists of an independent Project Manager, Quantity Surveyor, CDM Coordinator, M&E Specialist and an Architect. Maris Interiors is carrying out the detail and build aspect using the workspace design concept of Axa’s Architect.
The scope of the works includes producing a fresh open plan area around the perimeter of the office, designed to give the staff the wide and varied view of the City from the 20th floor, with cellular offices and meeting rooms in the centre near the core of the building.
Maris' Project Director commented, ‘The Gherkin is a challenging building in itself in terms of access and building shape however we were confident that this would not affect the end result of the fit-out or quality of the workplace for AXA. The finished office will be in line with AXA’s Corporate Standards while being tailored to the unusual design of The Gherkin’.
