“Our old office space was five floors, which made it hard for staff and volunteers to work together effectively. We wanted to move to an office that would give us a much more flexible and positive space with a colourful, fun and inspiring design. We were delighted with the carpet from Interface – it truly reflects the different ecosystems and adds a real wow factor. Interface’s sustainability credentials – including their focus on using recycled and biobased materials within their products – made them a natural fit for the project.

“The end result is an office space that’s amazing to work in, and where you really feel you’re contributing to change,” Eilish Kavanagh, Director of People, Culture & Inclusion commented.

Working with workplace interior specialists, Peldon Rose, Friends of the Earth created a ‘round the world’ interior design scheme that showcased its global reach and brought the restorative shades and textures of nature into the workplace. Interface’s sustainable and nature-inspired collections were used to bring the vision to life, alongside a colour scheme that reflects Friends of the Earths global reach; from the rainforest to the Arctic.

Commenting on the design, Steve Taylor, Project Director, Peldon Rose said: “Physical spaces affect our performance, behaviours and moods, and there’s a direct correlation between the physical spaces we work in and our mental well-being.

“Friends of the Earth wanted a design for its office space that really empowers employees, brings them together and allows the charity to be more impactful. This was a great opportunity to create a showcase for responsible, sustainable resourcing in interior design.”

Interface’s biophilia-inspired Urban Retreat collection was used throughout the communal office space to mimic diverse elements of nature. The collection offers eleven dynamic modular flooring products, ranging from refined textures to broad organic forms to create an illusion of the natural world. The carpet tiles were utilised in the open plan office space and represent different aspects of the environment ranging from textured grass to sandy deserts.

“The Urban Retreat collection allows us to create quick and easy-to-understand visual prompts that feel like you’re venturing across different regions of the earth” Steve Taylor, Project Director, Peldon Rose added.

Several colours from the Net Effect One and Two collections were also used in each composition in the meeting rooms to capture the precise moment when sea foams onto the shore. Contrasting rhythms, textures, colours and patterns created an iceberg themed space to provide each room with a unique life of its own through organic imagery and a complex illusion of light moving through water.

Find out more about the project with our case study video here.